Payton Pritchard's wife, Emma, shared a video on her Instagram story of Pritchard playing 1-on-1 against a young child in Boston. She joked that she had taken out their dog for a walk, and found Pritchard at the park playing against the child. Despite playing against a much smaller kid, Pritchard didn't look like he was taking it easy, making a turnaround jump shot against him.
This was a wonderful sight to see, and this young fan will remember playing against a former NBA champion for the rest of his life. It was really nice of Pritchard to make this young fan's day by playing with him. Even though he is a successful NBA player now, Pritchard remembered the importance of the connection he shares with the fans and helped create a core memory for one fan.
Payton Pritchard, despite being a late first-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has proved to be a vital piece for the Boston Celtics. He has become a trusted rotation piece under both Ime Udoka and now Joe Mazzulla. With his role on the team set, the Celtics have a great scoring and playmaking option on the bench.
For Pritchard, he has carved out a nice niche for himself on the Celtics, as he can be relied upon to come off the bench and provide scoring, playmaking, and strong perimeter defense when the Celtics' starters and key players take some rest.
This degree of depth is one of the main reasons Celtics won the 2024 NBA championship, and are favorites to win the NBA championship this season as well. And to start the season, Pritchard has played some big minutes for the defending champions and played well in the process.
Payton Pritchard Trusted To Run The Offense
In the first three games of the season, Pritchard has played well for the Celtics, averaging 12.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.0 blocks per game. He struggled in the first game of the season against the New York Knicks, as he put up just three points, four rebounds, and four assists, despite the Celtics' win.
He got trusted to play more minutes against the Wizards, where he delivered 15 points, one rebound, and two assists in the Celtics' win. And in their latest game against the Pistons, Pritchard had 19 points, two rebounds, and one steal. Pritchard is showing Joe Mazzulla that he can be the reliable option to play when the Celtics are facing weaker opposition.
Jaylen Brown said early into training camp that the Celtics' roster is so deep that they play players like Payton Pritchard against weaker teams and still dominate their opponents. While that statement may have rubbed people the wrong way, Pritchard and the Celtics have done just that so far, with two of their three games so far ending in double-digit leads.
The Celtics have started the season as the favorites that everyone expected them to be. And if they continue this momentum, they can win the NBA championship once again. But we still have a long way to go and plenty of things can change by the end of the season.
