Bill Simmons Called Out by ESPN's Richard Jefferson on Sunday After Payton Pritchard Comments

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nick Meyer | Last updated May 11, 2025 8:22 PM ET

The Boston Celtics took Game 3 of their 2025 NBA Playoffs second round series against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday as Payton Pritchard, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White starred for Boston.

The Celtics' big win gave coach Joe Mazzulla's team a chance to even up the series at two games each heading into Monday night's contest against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Following the game, longtime Celtics fan and former ESPN analyst Bill Simmons took to his X account to sing the praises of Pritchard, the former Oregon Ducks guard who has become a weapon off the bench for Boston.

His comments were met with stiff resistance from former Nets star and NBA broadcaster Richard Jefferson, who had a long list of comments for Simmons on Sunday.

Simmons took issue with Pritchard's lack of publicity from ESPN to which Jefferson sharply replied.

"I know ESPN didn't mention it for almost 2 hours - but that was a superb Pritchard game," Simmons said.

"Played 18 huge mins in first half. They really need him today," Simmons added.

Jefferson called out Simmons right off the bat, saying 'Pritch Please' as he shared his list of grievances with the podcaster.

He also appeared to invite himself on 'The Bill Simmons Podcast.'

1. Pritch Please
2. Let me fix your post “I’m a huge Boston supporter and I wish they spoke MORE about Pritchard”
3. I personally did a highlight package for Pritchard during the game.
4. So to say we didn’t mention it for 2 hours is an actually lie or maybe a bias opinion.… https://t.co/HMbdufxDgW
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) May 11, 2025