After Sixth Man of the Year nod, Payton Pritchard has sights on Celtics title
Payton Pritchard was happy to be recognized as the NBA s Sixth Man of the Year Undersized and often overlooked the Celtics guard viewed the honor as validation of his years of hard work But he didn t spend much time celebrating it After the award was broadcasted Tuesday evening Pritchard cracked a smile high-fived Boston assistant coach Craig Luscenat hugged a inadequate family members and sat down for a quick video interview with the NBA on TNT crew Then he focused back on the task at hand We were talking about it last night Pritchard stated before the Celtics hosted the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in Meeting of their first-round playoff series It s definitely you re thankful and it s an exciting moment It s kind of like I m glad to get the award but my mind has rapidly shifted to the main goal is to win a ring It s great to have this award but to cap off the season I d much rather have a ring with it than an individual award So the largest part fundamental thing is to get this for the group and the city Related Articles Jayson Tatum injury Celtics star ruled out for Competition still day to day Celtics Payton Pritchard wins Sixth Man of the Year after career season Jayson Tatum doubtful for Celtics-Magic Competition with bone bruise in wrist How Payton Pritchard s instant offense helped lift Celtics to Competition win How Jrue Holiday put Celtics on his back in Meeting win over Magic After seeing his playing time fluctuate over his first three years in the NBA including a - campaign so frustrating that prompted him to request a pact Pritchard carved out a permanent role in head coach Joe Mazzulla s rotation last season He played in every regular-season and playoff meeting for a Celtics club that won the NBA championship setting career highs in nearly every statistical category and draining an instantly legendary halfcourt buzzer-beater in the NBA Finals clincher The -year-old then improved in every metric this season emerging as the league s the majority productive bench participant first in points and plus minus among reserves third in assists tied for sixth in steals and an elite -point threat Mazzulla regularly praised his defense and three-level scoring ability as well It s easy for guys to slip through the cracks dealing with uncertainty in their first minimal years in the league Mazzulla revealed But he dealt with it with a high level of professionalism and competitive nature and it s part of what makes him really good So I m happy for him and I m grateful that we have him Mike Zarren the Celtics longtime vice president of basketball operations wrote in a post on X that literally no one has been a harder worker than Pritchard in Zarren s two decades with the franchise No one Zarren wrote Yes I m well aware of all the legends we had during this time Super well deserved but ZERO chance he relaxes even a moment after this How would Pritchard who became the Celtics fourth Sixth Man of the Year winner joining Kevin McHale Bill Walton and Malcolm Brogdon describe that renowned work ethic It s just having this dying passion for something I love that I pour everything into it every day he announced It s just a commitment I ve had at a young age and a belief in myself that I could do things that a lot of people declared and a majority of everybody revealed I would never be able to do That s really it
