BOSTON — The Boston Celtics just made NBA history, and Payton Pritchard was the one who got them over the finish line. With 8:19 remaining in the second quarter of their game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, Pritchard nailed a three. It was the Celtics’ 1,364th three-point make of the season, which set the new record for most threes in a single season in NBA history.
The record was previously held by the Golden State Warriors, who made 1,363 threes in the 2022-23 NBA season. Now, the 2024-25 Celtics are the best three-point shooting team in league history.
And it’s fitting that Pritchard was the one who snapped the Warriors’ record.
Payton Pritchard helps Celtics break NBA's all-time three-point record
Pritchard, Jayson Tatum, and Derrick White have spearheaded the Celtics’ three-point charge this season. Earlier in the week, in the Celtics’ win over the Memphis Grizzlies, White set the single-season Celtics record for the most threes made in a single season by a Boston player. It was his 246th, which broke the record previously held by Isaiah Thomas.
By the time the season wraps up, it's almost certain that all three will be above Thomas in the Celtics' all-time ranks, it's merely a matter of who will finish the year on top.
So far this season (prior to the Suns game), that trio is leading the Celtics with 249 (White), 242 (Tatum), and 240 (Pritchard) threes. Boston has four more players who have hit at least 100 (Sam Hauser, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Jrue Holiday), and Kristaps Porzingis is not far behind.
It's been a trluy incredible season for the Celtics from behind the three-point arc. By the time the season concludes, it's almost a given that they will have broken the all-time record for most three-point attempts in a single season as well, a record held by the 2018-19 Houston Rockets (3,721). Heading into their game against the Suns on Friday night, Boston had attempted 3,679.
Joe Mazzulla has consistently emphasized the point that the Celtics are not looking to take a bunch of threes; they are simply seeking out the best possible shot at all times on the offensive end. That said, just a few games into his first season as head coach, he admitted his love for the three-ball.
“I love three pointers. I like math," he said after a win over the Washington Wizards in 2022.
As for the widespread criticism of how many threes teams around the NBA, especially the Celtics are taking in recent years, Mazzulla had the perfect response.
“It’s an interesting perspective, because in the NFL, people aren’t like, ‘I want to see less scoring.’ They’re not going to make the end zones smaller," Mazzulla said.
"They’re not going to make the field smaller. Scoring is up across other spots. I guess my question would be why in basketball would scoring being up be an issue as opposed to other sports? Does anybody want to watch a football game and see less touchdowns?”
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