Celtics' Payton Pritchard Believes He's On The 'Right Path' After Contract Extension originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
What a journey it’s been for Payton Pritchard. From asking to be traded to signing a multi-year extension with the Celtics, his growth has been undeniable.
Selected 26th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Pritchard averaged 19.2 and 14.1 minutes per game in his first two seasons. His playing time decreased during the 2022-23 season (13.4), and he requested a trade. When that didn’t happen, he took matters into his own hands.
Pritchard won an NBA Championship the next year, averaging 22.3 minutes played and scoring 9.6 points per game. During the 2024-25 season, he won the Sixth Man of the Year award. His progress continued after being given opportunities.
"It’s a long journey," Pritchard said via The Boston Globe. "It’s kind of been my whole basketball career, from high school, college. You go through so many ups and downs and just got to keep going every day and just try to get better and better.
"You just don’t know how far you can take it. I think it just shows that I think I’m on the right path."
That path includes averaging 17.0 points per game last season, averaging 32.4 minutes played. He signed a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension before the 2026-27 season.
The Celtics had a busy offseason. The team traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers for Paul George. Mike Conley and Mitchell Robinson also signed with the Celtics. After recovering from an injury, Jayson Tatum aims to be 100% healthy.
Whether he comes off the bench or earns a starting role, Pritchard is ready to prove why he was worth the extension.
"How you impact the game is what really matters to me," Pritchard said. "It’s probably an ego thing, but I don’t really care to hear my name called at the beginning of the game.
"The first five minutes of the game really has no effect on the game, and if that’s what Joe (Mazzulla) thinks benefits the team the most is me coming off the bench and playing those minutes, then I’m going to try to do it and be the best in those minutes."