BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 09: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics reacts after his made … More
Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard is the NBA’s 2024-25 Sixth Man of the Year. It’s a testament to Pritchard’s perseverance and a growth mindset he discussed with Forbes in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview.
He also shared what winning this honor would mean to him, conveying, “It’d just be a testament to my hard work, my durability over time, and really just striving to be excellent in my role.”
The former first-round pick was buried on Boston’s bench a few years ago. “Most guys in his position, the league breaks them,” said Joe Mazzulla on the heels of Pritchard overcoming the obstacles in front of him to earn a four-year, $30 million extension that’s become one of the most team-friendly deals in the league.
But even after the security that comes with a new contract and helping the Celtics raise Banner 18 to the TD Garden rafters, Pritchard stayed hungry. He utilized a truncated offseason for the NBA’s reigning champions to position himself for a career year and his most meaningful growth.
He’s achieved his stated goals entering the 2024-25 campaign. One of those was becoming more efficient at shooting threes off the dribble. According to NBA.com, on pull-up threes among those taking at least two per game, Pritchard finished the regular season in the top five in effective field goal percentage, which adjusts field goal percentage to account for the added value of three-point attempts.
The fifth-year guard also wanted to become more impactful on defense and earn more opportunities to prove himself while defending the league’s premier perimeter players. His development at that end of the floor led to the Celtics’ coaching staff granting his wish. They trusted him to defend the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Cade Cunningham, to name a few.
“I feel like a lot of it has to do with working in the weight room, getting stronger, faster, quicker, and being in better shape,” Pritchard told this author about his career year on defense in their previously mentioned exclusive interview for Forbes. “But just being fearless and never backing down from a moment.”
Offensively, the former Oregon Duck averaged double figures for the first time in his career. He produced 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Each of those represents new personal bests. Pritchard also converted on 40.7 percent of the 7.8 threes he launched.
Pritchard joins a trio of Hall of Fame Celtics who won Sixth Man
In beating out Malik Beasley of the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award, Pritchard becomes the fifth Celtic to earn that honor. Three are in the Basketball Hall of Fame: John Havlicek, Kevin McHale, and Bill Walton.
At the Auerbach Center on Tuesday, Pritchard shared with this author what he’s most proud of about the growth this season that placed him in the position to earn this accolade.
“My consistency,” said Pritchard. “Game in, game out. Limiting overall bad games. I’m proud of that. My efficiency shooting-wise, I think, has been really good this year. Every summer, finding different ways to keep getting better and better and elevate my game, especially in the playoffs. And then, hopefully, next year comes, and I elevate it again.”
Al Horford conveyed, “I’m just so proud of Payton and the job that he’s done. His consistency with his work ethic, and how hard he works, [and] how he’s taking care of his body. How he took the challenge on this year and [is] trying to take his game to another level, not only on the offensive end but defensively; it’s remarkable to see.”
The 17-year veteran continued, “He plays the right way, and I’m so impressed [by] how he’s been able to handle everything and how he gets himself ready to compete at that level.”
That was evident on Sunday at TD Garden, where Pritchard produced 19 points, his most in a playoff game, helping his team register a 103-86 victory vs. the Orlando Magic to take a 1-0 series lead in their first-round matchup.
“His ball pressure; I thought he was just as good defensively as he was offensively,” Mazzulla told Forbes post-game. “Him pushing the pace at the offensive end was big for us. But really, his physicality at the point of attack was big for us. And I think he got two tip-out lead runs in the second half that were big for us…[He] just made things happen.”
Pritchard’s ability to meet the moment and step up for a Celtics team that saw Jayson Tatum require 22 shots to score 17 points and Jaylen Brown score 16 on 14 field goal attempts didn’t come from being satisfied or resting on his laurels.
So, rest assured that Pritchard winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award is an accomplishment that will only add more fuel to the fire inside him that’s propelling him to continue reaching new heights.