The debut of NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball was momentous for many reasons, but hoops fans’ lasting memory of the broadcast likely came during an interaction between lead game analyst Reggie Miller and special contributor Caitlin Clark.
The WNBA phenom joined the pregame desk to flex her chops as a commentator, offering insightful answers on her league’s labor fight as well as the ongoing NBA season. But as Clark’s segment wound down, Miller was asked to list off an NBA comp for his new colleague.
Miller offered up Boston’s Payton Pritchard, and Clark’s gritted-teeth response instantly became a meme online.
In the latest episode of his podcast 7PM in Brooklyn, fellow NBA on NBC analyst Carmelo Anthony offered his perspective on the viral moment. Anthony was at the desk alongside Miller and Clark, but said he couldn’t hear the interaction except in his earpiece.
“I’m hearing it loud as sh*t in my ear, and when I heard Payton Pritchard, it caught me off-guard,” Anthony said. “We didn’t know [it went viral].”
Anthony went to bat for his colleague, but admitted Miller was out on a limb with the comp.
“I see where he was trying [to go],” Anthony laughed. “He wasn’t completely tripping, but he was tripping.”
While Anthony originally offered Luka Doncic as his comp on-air with Clark, he offered a couple of other options on his podcast, including a fellow Indianapolis point guard.
“Caitlin Clark got like, she got a little Steph, she got Haliburton. To me, she plays like Haliburton,” Anthony explained. “Luka, she plays a little bit like Luka. She knows angles, she manipulates you on offense like Luka.”
Hopefully, Anthony can fill Miller in on some game before the next time Clark appears on NBC.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.