Sixth Man Payton Pritchard is the Ultimate Underdog

The Celtics’ point guard has been the most consistent bench option in the entire league. Pritchard finished first off the bench in points, three-pointers and plus/minus. 

Small but Mighty

When the Celtics drafted Pritchard No. 26 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft from Oregon, he was viewed as a speedy, skilled guard with good three-point range. He was small for an NBA player, (6-foot-1), but made up for size with his scoring and crafty passing. While he wasn’t as highly regarded as other dimers like LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton, his passing was what led the Celtics to draft him in the first round. 

In Pritchard’s rookie year, he came off the bench, playing nearly 20 minutes per game behind some of the Celtics’ better guards, including Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart.

Pritchard was a solid contributor that season. He finished with per-game averages of 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and shot 44% from the field. His breakout game came in just his eighth career outing. Against the Toronto Raptors, he scored 23 points on 61% from the field, adding eight assists. 

Contributing to Success

It was games like his Raptors performance, where Pritchard would score in double figures on good efficiency, that had Celtics fans excited for what the young guard’s future could look like.

In Pritchard’s sophomore season, Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens stepped down from his role to become the president of basketball operations instead. To replace him, Boston hired then-Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Ime Udoka.

In Udoka’s system, Prichard fell out of favor. He lost bench minutes to players like Dennis Schröder and Romeo Langford. However, that season, the Celtics finished with 51 wins and made the NBA Finals.

Facing off against the Warriors, Pritchard saw the floor, but when he did, Golden State targeted him on defense. They would set ball screens to make sure that Prichard would end up guarding Stephen Curry or Jordan Poole, both of whom were excellent shooters and great at creating space against weaker defenders. While Pritchard would often hold his own, the Celtics did not, losing the series in six games. 

New Scheme, New Pritchard

The following season, Udoka was dismissed from the team following an in-office issue, and assistant coach Joe Mazzulla took over.

While Udoka often focused on hard defense and high intensity, Mazzulla ushered in a new movement. It was coined ​​“Mazzulla Ball“ by many Celtics fans.

Mazzulla’s style of coaching focuses on high-quality three-point looks and five-out ball movement. While this seems like a style that Pritchard might benefit from — as he has a good three-point shot and is at times a poor defender — it was just the opposite in his first season under Mazzulla. 

That year, Pritchard logged the lowest minutes per game of his career at just over 13. 

“Going what felt like 20 games in a row with not touching the floor, having many guys out, not playing still,” Pritchard said in an interview with NBC Sports Boston, “that can be definitely a mental test and a lot of people can kind of crumble in that situation.” 

Despite Pritchard’s struggles, the Celtics continued to produce, winning 57 games that season and losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat in seven games. 

After that season, things were trending down for Pritchard. He requested a trade, as he wanted an increased role and the chance to prove himself. Instead, Mazzulla finally started implementing him into the rotation, increasing his minutes from 13 to 22 and making him the de facto sixth man. Pritchard was playing behind talented guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, who, alongside team staples like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, led the Celtics to their second NBA Finals in three years. 

Ascension to the Sixth Man

It was around this time that Pritchard really found his niche.

He even began practicing half-court shots, which he nearly perfected. In the finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Pritchard hit not one, but two half-court buzzer beaters, the second of which acted as the dagger in the Celtics’ Game 5 win. 

In nearly three years, Pritchard went from a strong bench piece to out of the rotation entirely to an NBA champion.

While winning the NBA Finals is hard to top, Pritchard was able to come back stronger this season. En route to winning Sixth Man of the Year, Pritchard also put up a career-high 43 points in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Payton Pritchard’s rise from end-of-the-bench spark plug to bona fide star and award winner is truly special.