Payton Pritchard named Sixth Man of the Year after historic year

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard. Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Payton Pritchard's historic season earns him Sixth Man of the Year honor

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Apr 22, 2025 9:11 PM ET

Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard was one of the best bench players in NBA history this season, and he now has the hardware to prove it.

The NBA announced on Tuesday night that Pritchard has won the league's Sixth Man of the Year Award. Pritchard received a convincing 82 out of 100 first-place votes to beat out Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley and others.

A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2024-25 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.

The complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/h9lOygxZ4j
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 22, 2025

Pritchard averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Celtics during the regular season. While recent winners of the Sixth Man of the Year award have inflated their stats by starting a significant number of games, Pritchard appeared in 80 games and made just three starts.

In his fifth NBA season, Pritchard shot a career-high 47.2% from the field. He made 40.7% of his three-point attempts and set an NBA record with 246 three-pointers off the bench.

Payton Pritchard, the 2024-25 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year!

☘️ Most 3PM in a season off the bench in NBA history (246)
☘️ Most PTS off the bench this season (1,079)@Kia | #KiaSixth pic.twitter.com/wZaDQXgDOd
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2025

The Celtics may have to lean on Pritchard even more heavily in the postseason. Jayson Tatum suffered a wrist injury during Game 1 of Boston's opening-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The six-time All-Star is listed as doubtful for Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Pritchard scored 19 points in the Celtics' 103-86 win over the Magic in Game 1.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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