Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard. Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Payton Pritchard makes more history as he closes in on award

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Mar 25, 2025 8:11 AM ET

Payton Pritchard is already essentially a lock to win Sixth Man of the Year, but the Celtics guard has no plan to take it easy on his opponents.

In Monday's 113-95 win over the Kings, Pritchard dropped 22 points, including five threes, to further establish himself as the best spark plug off the bench in the association. The Oregon native led all Celtics with 12 points in the second half, helping the team overcome the loss of Jayson Tatum to injury late in the third period.

Pritchard now has 14 games off the bench with at least 20 points and five made threes. No player in NBA history has reached those numbers.

Payton Pritchard has 14 games off the bench with 20+ PTS & 5+ 3PT — the most in a single season in NBA history.

-300 on @PolymarketSport to win 6MOY pic.twitter.com/MhZVv1kQgI
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) March 25, 2025

With 236 makes in 71 games, Pritchard is tied with teammate Jayson Tatum for the fifth-most threes in the NBA this season. Remarkably, their teammate, Derrick White, is fourth with 237 makes.

The trio is in an intriguing battle to clinch the Celtics franchise record for most threes in a season. Isaiah Thomas (245) set the benchmark in 2017, but will almost assuredly be surpassed by the end of the season.

Earlier this season, Pritchard became the first player in NBA history to drain at least 219 threes off the bench. Since setting the record, he has made another 17 threes at an impressive clip of 41 percent.

Pritchard's efficiency has been a significant factor in Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla's growing faith in him, especially in late-game situations. Pritchard has made 56 threes in fourth quarters at a clip of 40.9 percent, which ranks second in the league among all shooters. Even Stephen Curry has shot 37 percent from deep in late-game situations.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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