Report: Pritchard to join USA Select team ahead of FIBA World Cup originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Payton Pritchard will have the chance to prove his worth against some pretty strong NBA competition this summer.
The Boston Celtics point guard will join the 2023 USA Select Team that will practice with and scrimmage against Team USA ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday.
Team USA begins training camp in Las Vegas in early August, and the Select Team will help that squad prepare for the World Cup in The Philippines later in the month by competing against them in practice. Pritchard will join an intriguing group of young stars on the Select Team, which includes 2021 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham and 2022 No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Joe Vardon.
Here’s a partial list of the Select Team roster based on current reports:
Players on the Select Team are also eligible to travel to The Philippines and serve as injury replacements if needed, so this is a great opportunity for Pritchard. The Celtics reportedly looked into trading the 25-year-old this offseason, but after dealing starting point guard Marcus Smart this offseason, they could give more minutes to Pritchard in 2023-24 as a third guard behind Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon.
Pritchard averaged just 5.6 points over 13.4 minutes per game last season but has shown he can be a capable scorer off the bench; the Oregon product put up 7.7 points per game and shot 41.1 percent from 3-point range as a rookie in 2020.
Here is the Team USA roster that will practice with Pritchard and the Select Team in Vegas next month: