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Instant reactions to Oregon football’s 56-10 win over Rutgers

Register-Guard reporter Alec Dietz breaks down the Oregon football team’s bounce-back road win vs. Rutgers Oct. 18.

When the NBA season tips off Oct. 21, there will be four former Oregon men’s basketball players on rosters throughout the league – three who have ties to the Ducks team that made an unforgettable run to the 2017 Final Four.

That includes Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year, who is entering his sixth professional season after being selected by the Celtics in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft.

Pritchard, who was a four-year starter at Oregon beginning in 2016-17, averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season. He shot a career-high 47.2% from the field, including 40.7% from 3-point range. Pritchard’s 1,079 points off the bench were the most in the NBA and he ranked fifth among all NBA players in 3-pointers made with a career-high 255, the second most in a season in Celtics franchise history. 

Joining Pritchard in Boston is former Oregon teammate Chris Boucher, who signed with the Celtics in August. Boston is Boucher’s third NBA team. After going undrafted, he began his career on a two-way contract with Golden State in 2017-18 and then spent the last seven seasons in Toronto.

Boucher, the Ducks’ single-season record-holder for blocks with 110, was a senior on the 2017 Final Four team but tore his ACL during the Pac-12 Tournament and missed the NCAA Tournament.

In 407 career regular-season NBA games, he has averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Both former Ducks have won NBA titles, Pritchard in 2024 and Boucher with Toronto in 2019.

The nine-year NBA vet is on his third team after getting traded to the Suns in July as part of the deal that sent Kevin Durant to Houston. Brooks was a junior starter at Oregon during the Final Four run and declared for the NBA draft once that season ended.

He was drafted by Memphis where he played six seasons before getting traded to Houston in 2023. He has started 465 of 492 regular-season games played, and 29 postseason games. His career averages are 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

N’Faly Dante, center, Atlanta Hawks

After going undrafted in 2024 and spending his first NBA season on a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets, Dante signed a two-year, $4.4 million contract with the Hawks in August despite playing in just four NBA games during his rookie season.

He averaged 6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 12.8 minutes in those games for the Rockets, but he showed his potential in the G League, where he averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.0 steals.

One more former Oregon Duck in the NBA

Kel’el Ware, forward, Miami

Ware was a five-star recruit when he signed with Oregon, where he played as a freshman during the 2022-23 season before transferring to Indiana. He played one season with the Hoosiers then entered the 2024 NBA draft and was the 15th overall pick.

Former Oregon State Beavers in the NBADrew Eubanks, forward, SacramentoGary Payton II, guard, Golden State

Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com.