Oregon Basketball: 2020 NBA Draft Profile for Payton Pritchard

Strengths

Pritchard is a true point guard, flashing above-average handle, solid outside shooting, high basketball IQ, and deceptive quickness and shiftiness when he needs to.

His career 41.5% three-point percentage from last season is good enough on its own, but he did it on 6.8 attempts per game – while demonstrating his extended NBA range on the regular. He may not be an absolutely elite three-point shooter in the NBA, but he’s more than capable of keeping opposing defenses honest with his range.

Additionally, he has outstanding ball-handling skills and the quickness to get by defenders and score on pull-up jumpers, in the paint, or at the free throw line after drawing contact. Again he’ll need to prove he can reliably do that against NBA players, especially when matchups against NBA-caliber bigs caused him to struggle to finish in the paint, but the skill is clearly there.

And finally, as a four-year starter and team leader, Pritchard brings the kind of experience, savviness, and IQ needed to contribute to an NBA squad right away.

Weaknesses

Pritchard is six-foot-two and 190 pounds, without a long wingspan. That size is a big disadvantage in today’s NBA, and not having the length or lateral speed to keep up with bigger, faster guards will no doubt cap his potential in the NBA.

Pritchard showed some good skill as an off-ball defender, picking up 211 career steals, but he will likely struggle as an on-ball defender – and I suspect he will have issues fighting through screens at the next level as well.

Lastly, Pritchard isn’t an explosive athlete, and his lack of size and athleticism will no doubt force him to become an elite three-point shooter if he wants to stick in today’s NBA. If he can’t do that, he’s too much of a liability on defense to merit legitimate minutes.