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Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller was heavily criticized for comparing Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark’s game to Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, with fans taking it as a slight against Clark. Miller doubled his pick.
Miller, 60, said the issue was not about the player’s stature or how the player has developed the game, but simply about the game itself.
“The question of historically or stature-wise, who is she compared to, because if that was the case, obviously she’s brought as much attention and eyeballs as a Stephen Curry,” Miller said during a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) plays against the Atlanta Dream during the first half of Game 3 of the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. 18 September 2025. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)
“So if that was the question, I probably would have said Stephen Curry. But I just went by game, like who does her game remind me of, and when I look at Payton Pritchard, and if you’ve seen Payton Pritchard. They’re very similar.”
Miller said Pritchard is probably a better scorer than Clark once they get to the paint, but they both shoot step backs, deep 3-pointers, move the ball quickly and get a lot of assists. The Indiana Pacers great insisted it wasn’t a slight, as people who know basketball love Pritchard’s game.
“Payton Pritchard, to the average fan, is not known as Stephen Curry, but to basketball people, Payton is known. People really love Payton Pritchard, but it is what it is.”
WNBA star Caitlin Clark (left) and former NBA player Reggie Miller broadcast on the court for NBC before a game between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. 1 February 2026. ((Brad Penner/Imagn Images))
“I think people got caught because it wasn’t a huge name, people say, ‘You could have said Damian Lillard, you could have said Trae Young, you could have said Stephen Curry.’ I was comparing the games, not Caitlin Clark’s stature.”
Pritchard was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the 2024–25 season. In his career, he had primarily been a productive bench player, averaging 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3 assists per game over his six-year career.
This season, with superstar Jayson Tatum out with an Achilles injury, Pritchard has started more games and been more productive with more minutes. In 60 games this season, Pritchard is averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
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Caitlin Clark (22) of the Indiana Fever takes the court before the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 2 September 2025. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Giving Reggie Miller a chance to amend his comments, Dan Patrick asked Miller again whose game Clark reminded him of the most, and he again answered Pritchard before joking about rattling off other superstars to appease fans.
“I’d say Payton Pritchard, Stephen Curry, Kyrie (Irving), Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, (Cade) Cunningham, (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), she’s all of them, okay, she’s all of them.”
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