Payton Pritchard Accomplishes Rare Celtics Feat Alongside Kevin McHale, Bill Walton

The Boston Celtics are one of the most storied franchises in the entire NBA, with only the Los Angeles Lakers rivalling them. That makes anyone adding to the franchise's history books in a meaningful way an impressive feat.

Payton Pritchard managed to do just that, joining Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, and Malcolm Brogdon as the only players in Celtics history to win the Sixth Man of the Year award.

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McHale won the award twice in a row in 1984 and 1985, while Walton won the award in the following season in 1986. It wasn't until nearly 40 years later that the next Celtic won the award, when Brogdon won the award in 2023. The Celtics are now tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the most wins of all time.

It is fun to see just how the NBA has evolved as a league with the difference in the award winners for the Celtics. McHale and Walton were both elite big men who relied on interior scoring and rebounding to win the award.

Brogdon and Pritchard are both guards who focused much more on scoring and outside shooting, much more in tune with the modern NBA.

All of the Clippers' winners of the award came recently, with Jamal Crawford winning it twice, Lou Williams winning it twice, and Montrez Harrell winning it once.

Pritchard has come a long way for the Celtics, so it is nice that he was rewarded for doing so. It wasn't too long ago that Pritchard was asking to be traded, but now the point guard out of Oregon is a crucial part of this year's title run.

He becomes especially important to the team with Jayson Tatum out due to a wrist injury, as Pritchard is capable of providing a scoring punch that can make up for the loss of Tatum in that department.

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Interestingly, the Celtics went on to win the title in two of those previous four seasons where a player won Sixth Man of the Year, so Pritchard will be looking to make it three out of five.

The Larry Bird-led Celtics are an interesting comparison for the current iteration of the team. They have a deep roster, showcased by players winning this award, and plenty of top-end talent as well. This year's Celtics will be hoping they can win the title again and begin to build a dynasty that is similar to the 80s Celtics.

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