Payton Pritchard has develop into a Boston Celtics family identify, however that’s not what the 26-year-old envisioned on draft night time 5 years in the past.
Pritchard, an undersized prospect from Oregon, sat patiently on draft night time as groups made their picks. By the point 25 picks had been made, the Celtics had been on the clock at No. 26 and selected Pritchard, ending the night time with Aaron Nesmith (No. 14), and Yam Mader (No. 47) as the latest members of the group.
“I keep in mind the entire thing,” Pritchard stated on “The Younger Man and The Three” podcast. “I keep in mind there being a bunch of individuals round, and I’m simply sitting there like each choose goes by, and persons are simply staring and ready, and I’m like, ‘I’m simply going upstairs. I can’t be round all people.’ … You’re simply sitting there ready for a name out of your agent. And I didn’t even assume I used to be gonna go to Boston ’trigger I used to be taking a look at their roster too, and I’m like, they’re guard-heavy. They picked two level guards the draft earlier than and I didn’t even work out for them or something.”
The Celtics chosen guards Romeo Langford (No. 14 from Indiana), Carsen Edwards (thirty third from Purdue) and Tremont Waters (51st from LSU) with three of their 4 picks within the 2019 draft. Edwards and Waters fizzled out of the league shortly and Langford was traded for Derrick White to the San Antonio Spurs in 2022.
Kemba Walker was the group’s place to begin guard throughout Pritchard’s rookie season, working in tandem with Marcus Good. Pritchard sat on the bench alongside veteran guard Jeff Teague and second-year guards Langford, Edwards and Langford.
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Pritchard beat out all 4 of them in complete minutes (1,268) performed, averaging 7.7 factors with 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Brad Stevens was the pinnacle coach on the time and shortly started to acknowledge Pritchard’s capacity to offer a spark together with his above-average 3-point taking pictures — Pritchard shot 41.1% from three as a rookie.
The assured, pesky now-NBA champion the Celtics know at the moment didn’t achieve his assured demeanor in Boston. Pritchard, trying again, felt as if the Covid-19 pandemic hindered his inventory worth within the 2020 draft after averaging 20.5 factors, 3.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists as a senior at Oregon.
“I believe I positively would’ve received drafted increased actually,” Pritchard stated, per “The Younger Man and the Three” podcast. “Trigger I might’ve had the March Insanity and the best way I used to be taking part in, I used to be prepared for that second. That may enhance your inventory proper there simply having good performances and main your group. And I positively was gonna duck smoke in pre-draft exercises and I used to be going to wish to go. I solely did two particular person exercises at the moment and that was Toronto (Raptors) and Detroit (Pistons) that got here to LA. So I didn’t get that chance however, yeah, it nonetheless labored out.”
Boston signed Pritchard to a four-year, $30 million extension in 2023.
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Now, the five-year veteran is on the hunt because the NBA’s early front-running candidate for the Sixth Man of the 12 months Award. Pritchard is averaging a career-best 14.8 factors, taking pictures 42% from three 37 video games into Boston’s title protection.
