BOSTON — Four years ago, Payton Pritchard wanted out of Boston. He had fallen out of the Celtics’ rotation and grew frustrated at his lack of playing time, eager to show what he was capable of as a pro.
But despite wanting out, he wasn’t traded at that midseason deadline.
And the rest is history.
The following season, the Celtics won their elusive 18th banner with Pritchard as their leading scorer off the bench. During that playoff run, he became a legend in Boston, immortalized by his litany of buzzer-beaters, capped by a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer in the decisive Game 5.
One year after that?
Pritchard won Sixth Man of the Year, a culmination of years of tireless work.
And now?
The 28-year-old guard who so many believed would be too small to make it as a pro has signed his biggest contract yet: a 2-year, $44.2 million extension that keeps him with the Celtics through the 2028-2029 season. The contract also includes a mutual option for the 2029-2030 season, meaning that either Pritchard or the Celtics can opt in for a third year if they so choose.
Due to a six-month trade restriction triggered by the extension, Pritchard can’t be traded at the deadline, giving one more year of complete assurance he’ll be in Boston.
It’s still wild to him that he’s the second-longest tenured player on the roster. And, as his seniority grows, he continues to examine how he’ll lead.
“Maybe I’m more vocal this year — maybe my presence is felt a little bit more in that area,” Pritchard said. “But for me, I feel like leadership isn’t just about [being] vocal. It’s how you approach every day, your competitive spirit, your work habits, all that stuff.”
His teammates have taken notice.
“P’s biggest strength, or one of them, is just his confidence and his ability and his work ethic,” said Jayson Tatum. “He is always looking at ways to get better, looking at ways to challenge himself. He’s a hell of a competitor. He just loves to hoop. For a six-foot white guard that has gotten to the point where he has in his career, it’s because he works his ass off, and he just competes at the highest level.”
Could Payton Pritchard take another leap in Year 7?
Payton Pritchard is likely to still come off the bench this season, at least to start, but Jaylen Brown’s absence could give him more opportunities.
Pritchard averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game in 69 games played alongside Brown last year; those numbers rose to 25.2 points, 7 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game in the 10 games in which Brown sat.
This year, Pritchard plans to continue to add to his game; one way he hopes to do that is by getting to the free-throw line more often.
“I feel like I put the defense at a disadvantage at times — like, I get them in the air, and I’ll go through a step through, but it’s just taking those moments to just take the easy route, get to the free-throw line, when their hands are all over me, learning how to, like, just go up into my shot and draw a foul, stuff like that,” Pritchard explained at training camp in Charleston.
He’s been picking Mike Conley’s brain about it, too; the veteran guard is his go-to workout partner and newfound mentor.
“I don’t want to be, like, a flopper, like I’m just falling on the ground,” Pritchard said. “I’m not really somebody who falls on the ground a lot, but, like, when you have an opportunity to take a foul, take it.”
Pritchard doesn’t know exactly how he’ll improve in Year 7.
But, on Media Day, he made clear that he would.
“Everybody always tries to put people in a box, and for every year of my career since I’ve been young, people put me in this box of like ‘This is the player you can be,’” he said. “And I just feel like those expectations, I blow them out of the water. I don’t know what I can be doing differently, but I will find something that will make me excel to another level, but I can’t tell you what that exactly could be. Maybe I get better at getting to the free-throw line more — that adds more points. Maybe I somehow figure out how to develop and add four more assists a game. And like, so I just don’t know what that will look like. But I will work to find it and become a better player for sure.”
