The Boston Celtics have gotten out to a solid 10-3 start this season, holding second place in the Eastern Conference behind the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. While Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the headliners most nights, another player has been quietly driving the team’s depth: Payton Pritchard.
Pritchard, in his fourth season, has become a vital spark for Boston’s second unit, averaging a career-best 16.2 points per game on 47.6% shooting from the field and 42.7% from three-point range. This marks a significant jump from his previous career high of 7.7 points per game. Pritchard is currently Boston's fourth-leading scorer, trailing only Tatum, Brown, and Derrick White. Additionally, his 1.2 steals per game ranks him second on the team, showing his two-way impact.
In just 13 games, Pritchard has vaulted into the Sixth Man of the Year conversation. Starting the season with 100-1 odds, he’s now the favorite at +225 at BetMGM, commanding 15.1% of all tickets and 15.3% of the handle — substantially more than Buddy Hield, the next closest player (+475) with 8.1% of tickets and 13.5% of the handle. As BetMGM’s largest liability for the award, Pritchard’s hot start has everyone around the league taking notice.
Night after night, he has proven to be a major scoring threat off the bench, leading all bench players with 211 points — well ahead of Minnesota’s Naz Reid (184 points) and Buddy Hield (166 points). His 48 three-pointers also lead all bench players, 15 more than Hield, and he has seen his minutes increase to reflect his hot hand, playing over 32 minutes in three of the last five games.
If Pritchard sustains this production, he could join Celtics greats Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, and Malcolm Brogdon as the franchise’s fourth Sixth Man of the Year.
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