Payton Pritchard's wife catches heartfelt moment of Celtics guard with fan

The Boston Celtics have been on fire from the three point line to open up the 2024-25 season, with their range extending so far that Payton Pritchard is suggesting the NBA add a four-point line. The Celtics moved to 3-0 on the young season with a surprisingly tight win on Saturday evening vs the Detroit Pistons, in a game in which Boston led by 20, ultimately went down by as many as six late in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came away with the victory.

Pritchard played well once again in this contest, and he didn't take long getting back on the court on the Celtics' off day Sunday, as his wife Emma took to Instagram to post a video of Pritchard playing one on one against a young fan at a local park, per Cameron Tabatabaie on X, formerly Twitter.

https://x.com/CTabatabaie/status/1850587641051308398

“We took our dog to the park and I turn around and find him here,” she wrote alongside a slew of laughing emojis.

The heartwarming moment was another example of how much Pritchard has embraced the Boston community since being drafted to the Celtics out of Oregon, reiterating that by signing an extension with the franchise last offseason.

Can the Celtics repeat this year?

The Celtics have the rare distinction of being a team that recently dominated on their way to an NBA championship while still simultaneously feeling disrespected coming into the following season.

Jayson Tatum in particular had some motivation due to the fact that he was benched on multiple occasions for Team USA this summer at the Paris Olympics. The culprit for that was largely Tatum's jump shot, which appeared to be broken during both the playoffs this past season as well as the Olympics. Tatum has responded to that criticism by coming out red hot from beyond the three point line this season, showing off a new and improved jumper that seems to have largely eliminated the hitch that made it a bit painful to watch in seasons past.

The Celtics as a whole also have reason to feel disrespected as many have criticized their championship run from a year ago as being largely the result of injuries to their opponents.

While Boston's playoff opponents did suffer a truly insane amount of ailments in those series, the team was still by far the most dominant squad in the league throughout the season, and have started off on a similar note to open up the current campaign.

In any case, Boston will next take the floor on Monday evening at home vs the Milwaukee Bucks.