A lesson in ethical hoops from Payton Pritchard

Ethical hoops.

It’s a term that’s popped up in recent years in NBA discourse, mainly on discussion sites like Twitter and Reddit. If you’re unfamiliar, you may be asking, “what does ‘ethical hoops’ mean?” Well, in its simplest form, it’s about playing basketball the right way.

To play ethically is to play with honest intention. It’s getting buckets through one’s ability to put the ball in the basket as opposed to seeking and embellishing contact through non-natural movements to get the refs to blow their whistles. It’s also about playing within yourself and the flow the game, not chasing stats by forcing shots or passes. Ethical hoopers work hard and play harder. They bring to life the vision James Naismith had when he created this beautiful game.

Payton Pritchard is a beacon of ethical hoops, and gave a masterclass in it against the Portland Trail Blazers in early-March. With several starters out, he exploded for a career-high 43 points in Boston’s win. He hit 10 of his 16 attempted threes, went 4-4 in the paint, and was perfect from the free throw line — an unbelievably efficient game.

Of his 43 points, only 5 came off of free throws, two of which came from a late-game foul by Portland when they were trying to extend the game. On top of that, he led both teams in both offensive and total rebounds, with 4 and 10 respectively.

Pritchard had a chance to tie or break the Celtics record for most three-pointers made in a single game, a record currently held by Marcus Smart with 11 threes. Payton had already made 10 of them heading into the fourth quarter, and easily could have chucked up a few more. He stopped short, though – not because he couldn’t, but because it wasn’t in the flow of the game.

“The biggest thing was getting the W. And they made a little push, so I wasn’t gonna force a look that wasn’t there. That’s disrespectful to the game and my teammates,” he said.

PP only attempted one three-pointer in the fourth quarter, and ultimately came up just shy of tying Marcus’s record. If that isn’t the epitome of ethical hoops, I don’t know what is.

Payton may be a bit unassuming to the casual fan. He stands at just 6’1”, 195 pounds. He’s relatively small compared to most professional basketball players, and his milky complexion would lead most people to underestimate him.

Make no mistake, though – Pritchard is all dog. He fights for every possession, and as Kristaps Porzingis might put it, he earns everything “with meat.” Smaller guards rarely embrace contact like Payton, and when they do, it’s usually with the intention of drawing fouls. Payton can beat defenders with his speed, but he will go right through their chest if he has to.

He provided a perfect example of that late in the third quarter of the Trail Blazers game.

As the Celtics were transitioning to offense, Luke Kornet set Payton up to attack downhill, handing the ball off to Pritchard while also setting a screen. Portland’s Kris Murray went under the screen to try and cut Pritchard off, but Payton had a burst of speed to get Murray on his back. As Payton got to the basket, he had a chance to continue his stride to lay the ball in, but Kris closed the gap enough to the point where he could have elevated to reject the shot. Pritchard recognized this, and instead slowed down to change Murray’s momentum, and then gave him a bump to clear enough space so that he could lay it in with ease.

Murray stands at 6’8”, 216 pounds, meaning that he has 7 inches and 21 pounds over Payton. Yet, Pritchard was still able to use his body to create separation and negate a potential shot-blocker. When he had Murray on his back, he easily could have thrown a pump-fake to get Kris to jump early and potentially draw a foul, but Payton would rather earn his buckets. This is just one example of many.

PP also has no issues getting down and dirty on the boards. In that same game, he was out fighting amongst the trees, as he usually is. Here in the second quarter, we could see him working hard to prevent 7’2” Donovan Clingan from grabbing an offensive rebound by forcing him under the basket, allowing Payton an opportunity to snag the ball and kick off a fastbreak.

Pritchard is very mindful of how he impacts the game. CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell recently had a chance to get an exclusive interview with Payton in which he made that very clear.

It’s no wonder an undersized guard like Pritchard was able to carve out such a pivotal role on a championship team, despite the already overwhelming talent level of the Celtics roster. For all of you young hoopers out there, take a page out of PP’s book. If you play basketball the right way, the work you put in will pay for itself.