Celtics surprise player earns high praise from Rival Bucks Forward

The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the best rivalries in the Eastern Conference in years. The two teams have had some playoff battles, while the regular season games have also been intense.

Both sides have won a title in the last two seasons, adding more fuel to this rivalry. The two organizations were the cream of the crop in the East and normally went through each other in the conference.

The rivalry was taken to new heights this season when Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo got involved during a game earlier in the year. The two sides have since moved on, but the intensity of beating each other up remains.

But even with this rivalry, there is also a respect factor on each side. Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo may not be the biggest name in Milwaukee, but he showed major praise for a Celtics player.

During a recent episode of his podcast, Thanasis has chosen a player on the Celtics to remove from their roster. Normally, people would say either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, but Thanasis was going with guard Payton Pritchard.

“If you told me you have one button and one of those guys is not going to play against you for the Celtics, that’s Payton Pritchard … I didn’t say Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford. I said Payton Pritchard. So underrated.”

“When everybody doesn’t have it, I don’t feel it, that’s the guy that always has it,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m telling you, this guy is so underrated. He’s a dog… I study the game, I see this guy playing 1v1 outfield. This guy has so much love for basketball. So it’s dangerous. .”

That’s high praise for the Celtics guard, but he had a great season. Pritchard is the leading contender to win Sixth Man of the Year and has helped solidify the Celtics’ entire roster.

For the year, the guard averaged 16.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Pritchard is shooting 43% from beyond the 3-point line as well.

His emergence has helped make this Boston team even more formidable, and it’s nice for him to see opponents give him the respect he deserves.

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