But no one will have a better view than Pritchard's that night. With four seconds left in the second quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Mavericks star Luka Doncic was at the free throw line with his team trailing by 18 points to the Celtics.
Pritchard's rare combination of speed, shooting and fearless play has seen him emerge as a specialist in late-quarter situations, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla used him again in his first appearance of the game.
“He knows I'm capable of making those shots,” Pritchard said.
After Doncic missed a free throw, Celtics forward Al Horford grabbed the rebound, spun around and made a quick pass to Pritchard, who took one dribble, rose a few feet back from mid-court and prayed for the best.
“I just had to shoot and create a chance to score,” Pritchard said. “That's literally all I had on my mind. Just get the shot up high and make sure I have enough space to get a clean shot.”
As the ball slid through the net, the TD Garden crowd roared and the Celtics' NBA championship seemed all but assured, and for Pritchard, the shot was instantly unforgettable, a moment that will live on NBA Finals highlight reels for decades to come.
After playing a scrimmage against the USA Basketball Olympic team as part of the U.S. National Team on Sunday, Pritchard said the half-court shot and subsequent NBA championship finally felt real.
“Obviously, I agree,” he said. “It's a great shot. It's something I'll always remember. But it was just the timing. I had the ability to step up and make that shot. I live for those moments. Maybe in 20 years I'll look at it and go, 'Wow, that was amazing.'”
Pritchard said last month's Duck Boat Parade was a memorable experience and he enjoyed seeing the impact the Celtics' victory had on so many fans. He called it a “once in a lifetime event” and said he hopes it can happen again soon.
“It would be nice to win it again,” Pritchard said. “We haven't talked about it yet, but we don't need to talk about it. It's already something we want.”
“We have to be grateful for what we've just done, understand that it's really hard work, and see ourselves as having accomplished something great. But then we have to do it again.”
Pritchard said it's important for the Celtics to maintain their competitive spirit with training camp starting in less than three months, and he welcomed the opportunity to come to Las Vegas to hone his skills against one of the greatest basketball teams of all time.
The U.S. Olympic team includes NBA legends LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant (who is recovering from a calf strain) as well as Pritchard's Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday. Tatum missed the first two days for personal reasons but is scheduled to report to training camp on Monday.
In addition to the obvious benefits of playing against such high-level competition, Pritchard said he is focused on gaining as much as he can from simply watching the greats of the game.
“I'm watching everybody,” he said, “seeing what everybody's doing, the routines and everything, and just going from there. It's a great experience to come out here and compete and see where my game is at.”
It's even more fun basking in the afterglow of an NBA title, and while Pritchard was thrilled to see his veteran teammate win his first championship, he was especially happy for Mazzulla, who has never voiced any doubts about his future in Boston and is now widely viewed as one of the rising stars of the managerial profession.
““I'm very happy for him because he's worked so hard,” Pritchard said. “Especially this year, he's been himself. He was in complete control of the group and they respected him and listened to everything he had to say. He led us and now we're all eager to do it again.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com Follow @adamhimmelsbach.
