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Caitlin Clark Slyly Shouts Out Payton Prichard After Reggie Miller Awkwardly Compared The Two

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Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller put his foot in his mouth over the weekend when he compared Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, arguably one of the most transformative athletes in the modern history of women’s sports, and Boston Celtics role player Payton Prichard. Worse yet: he did it with Clark standing right next to him.

“There’s a new shooter from Indiana. I’m the third-best shooter in the state of Indiana now. It goes Caitlin [Clark], Tyrese [Haliburton], then now myself,” Reggie Miller joked when Caitlin Clark joined NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball broadcast.

“I like Payton Pritchard from Boston,” Miller said when asked by Maria Taylor who Clark can be compared to in the NBA.

“The way he’s able to handle the basketball, he makes big shots when the shot clock is running down, a lot like this young lady right here, isn’t afraid of the big moment and is a champion like she is soon to be.”

Caitlin Clark shouted out Boston Celtics’ guard Payton Prichard on social media after Reggie Miller awkwardly compared the two players

Beyond being inaccurate, Miller’s comparison was also criticized for being stereotypical, i.e., lumping Clark and Prichard together just because they’re both White and can shoot, which is something that’s also commonly seen with Black quarterbacks and White wide receivers in the NFL.

While Payton Prichard is far from a scrub — the 28-year-old former Oregon Duck is averaging 16.9 points per game this season — this is just his first season in the NBA as a starter.

Still, despite her best efforts, Caitlin Clark was unable to hide her disappointment in Miller’s comparison, leading to her reaction going viral on social media.

Clark, however, is subtly savvy on social media and was able to have some fun with the moment after Prichard hit a buzzer beater in the first quarter during the Celtics’ win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Perhaps Prichard felt propelled by being compared to Clark, as he dropped 26 points (second on the team behind Jaylen Brown) on 60% shooting, in addition to 7 assists and 4 rebounds, in the win over the Mavs.