Caitlin Clark probably doesn’t get compared to Payton Pritchard very often. And most people who would make that comparison have probably only said it on social media and never to Clark’s face, but that’s exactly what Reggie Miller did on Sunday night.
Clark joined the NBA on NBC broadcast for the first time on Sunday. She did some analyzing and expressed optimism that the WNBA collective bargaining agreement might be finished in the next few weeks, which would allow the season to start on time.
Before the game between the Knicks and Lakers tipped off, host Maria Taylor asked Reggie Miller who in the NBA reminds Miller of Clark. His answer caught everyone, including Clark, off-guard.
Caitlin Clark didn’t seem ecstatic about Reggie Miller comparing her to Payton Pritchard. https://t.co/LtTY3of9uh pic.twitter.com/Jj6HfxSvNm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 2, 2026
Caitlin Clark’s face reaction when Reggie Miller compared her game to Payton Pritchard is just 😂😂😂.
🎥 @TWDTV1 pic.twitter.com/K1bm22sIAX
— Andrew Jerell Jones, Luke 1:37 (BlueSky too now) (@sluggahjells) February 2, 2026
“I like Payton Pritchard from Boston,” Miller said as Clark put on her poker face. “The way he’s able to handle the basketball. He makes big shots when the shot clock’s running down. A lot like this young lady right here. Isn’t afraid of the big moment and is a champion like she’s soon to be.”
Clark is a very high-usage point guard who led the league in assists as a rookie. Pritchard has become a solid contibutor for a loaded Celtics team. Both players shoot a lot of three-pointers, but Pritchard has shot a much higher percentage because he’s not taking the deep contested looks that Clark does. No matter how many long-range buzzer-beaters you’ve seen him make.
The comparison really goes off the rails as Miller credits Pritchard for being a champion since he averaged 6.4 points in 18.7 minutes a game during Boston’s run to the championship in 2024.
It should also be noted that Carmelo Anthony compared her to Luka Dončić.
In Miller’s defense, he was trying to be complimentary. He said that Clark would be a champion soon and also called her the best shooter in Indiana over himself and Tyrese Haliburton. It’s just that comparing her to Payton Pritchard isn’t the compliment he might think it is in the eyes of most fans.
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