Payton Prichard Sends Message After Report Surfaces on Celtics' Big Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt John | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 3:09 PM ET

The Boston Celtics have made quite a few moves this offseason. Chief among them was swapping Jrue Holiday for Anfernee Simons. This has led to some debate as to who will start beside Derrick White between Simons and Payton Pritchard. Fastbreak Journal's Grant Afseth revealed who Boston planned to roll with on August 14.

"The Boston Celtics appear poised to elevate Payton Pritchard into the starting lineup while using Anfernee Simons as a high-scoring option off the bench for the 2025–26 season if he remains on the roster, sources informed FastbreakJournal.com," Afseth wrote.

Pritchard is coming off winning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award in 2025, coincidentally the second time in the last three years a Celtic has won it, but he is more familiar with the Celtics, as he's played for the team since 2020. In the five years he's played in Boston, he has started a grand total of 17 games.

Payton Pritchard Sends Message on His Potential Starting Job

While it appears Pritchard will get the starting nod for the Celtics this season, many will question if he's better for the job than Simons. In an interview with CelticsBlog's Noa Dalzell, Pritchard made a blunt statement about the matter.

“It doesn’t matter to me," Pritchard told Dalzell.

“A lot of things can change in a year – you can start a couple of games, you cannot,” he said. “For me, it’s about controlling what I can control – and that’s coming into games and changing the game, and being an unbelievable player and helping my team win. So that’s the only thing I’m focused on, ever. It’s not about accolades, it’s not about starting or anything like that. It’s about: how can I become the best player possible?”

NEW STORY: Payton Pritchard doesn't see next season as a gap year.

“It’s a year to prove [something], take a step, and show people that we are still that team.”

“We will come out and compete, and try to win every game... and go for a championship.”

Full story ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KxABWqJxNE
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) August 25, 2025

Pritchard thrived in an even bigger role with the Celtics last season. In 28.4 minutes per game, he averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 47.2% from the field and 40.7% from three. That was while backing up Holiday and White almost the entire season.

Now he'll be splitting the backcourt minutes with White and Simons. At least, that's how the rotation is projected to be. Simons has averaged more points than Pritchard has in an NBA season - he averaged as many as 22.6 points per game last season - but Pritchard not only has familiarity on his side, but also has much more playoff experience.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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