How many Oregon Ducks have ever played in the NBA Finals?
The Oregon Ducks will once again be represented in the NBA Finals after Payton Pritchard and the Boston Celtics advanced past the Miami Heat in a tightly contested Game 7 battle on Sunday.
Pritchard will become the fourth Oregon alumnus — and first since Jordan Bell in 2018 — to play in the NBA Finals when Boston takes on Bell’s old team, Golden State, starting with Game 1 on Thursday.
Bell was the first Duck to appear in the finals in nearly 40 years, a span that included the very successful careers of Terrell Brandon, Luke Ridnour and Blair Rasmussen among others.
Pritchard played a key role for the Celtics off the bench against Miami, averaging 6.5 points and two assists in the seven games. He adds solid defense and outside shooting to a squad that will need a sharp series in both areas to derail the return of the Golden State dynasty led by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Here are the Oregon alumni who have played in an NBA Finals, and how they (and their squads) did:
Payton Pritchard
Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
Year(s): 2022
Team: Boston Celtics
Stats: N/A
Pritchard’s performance against Golden State hasn’t started yet, but the second-year guard averaged 6.4 points and 1.9 assists against Miami in just under 15 minutes per night during the regular season, and a similar level of production can be expected in the finals.
Of course, Pritchard has also gone on mini-tears during his two-year tenure in Boston, and he could easily make himself a borderline household name with a strong month.
Jordan Bell
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Year(s): 2018 (W) and 2019 (L)
Team: Golden State Warriors
Stats: 3.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.5 blocks per game
Bell endeared himself to Golden State fans with a strong performance during the 2017-2018 season, when he earned a ring as a rookie backup center. That role lasted a few more seasons, produtcing two NBA Finals appearances.
All told, Bell averaged 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in about 10 minutes per game against Cleveland and Toronto, respectively.
Greg Ballard
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Year(s): 1978 (W) and 1979 (L)
Team: Washington Bullets
Stats: 5.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and one assist
Ballard was an excellent NBA player in the late-1970s to early-1980s, averaging 12.4 points over 802 games, mostly with the Washington Bullets.
Those Bullets made the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons, defeating Seattle in 1978 and losing to the Sonics in 1979 — when Ballard was a fresh-faced 23- and 24-year-old.
In those two series, Ballard averaged 5.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and one assist per game — and the experience almost certainly helped him develop into a scoring machine later in his career.
Jim Loscutoff
AP Photo/Gene Herrick, File
Year(s): 1957, 1959, 1961-1963 (5-0)
Team: Boston Celtics
Stats: 6.0 points, 5.2 rebounds
“Jungle Jim” spent nine seasons as a key cog on the Boston Celtics in the 50s and 60s, averaging 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds for his career.
During that time, the former Oregon star was a part of five NBA championship squads, never losing one. His finals averages of six points and 5.2 rebounds mirror his regular-season production.
1
1
