Heading into the season, Payton Pritchard seemed primed for a larger role. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday were fresh off an Olympic run, and the former is 34 years old. A strong preseason campaign has carried over into the regular season, where Pritchard has come out of the gates on fire.
He’s been the Celtics’ fourth-leading scorer so far this season—behind only Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and White—and has earned the fifth-most minutes (behind those three and Holiday). And while his defensive intensity and slick playmaking have stood out, Pritchard’s three-point stroke has been by far his most impressive skill.
A skill that has him on pace to enter NBA record books.
Payton Pritchard and Stephen Curry could stand together in NBA history (along with James Harden)
Through the first six games of the season (and at halftime of the Celtics’ November 2 game against the Hornets when this is being written), Pritchard is averaging four three-point makes per game.
The all-time record for threes made off the bench in a single season is held by Wayne Ellington, who drained 2018 threes off the pine for the Miami Heat in the 2017-18 season.
Pritchard is on pace to break that record… in 55 games.
Should Pritchard play all 82 games, a feat he accomplished last season, he would make 324 three-pointers. Only two players in the history of the sport have accomplished that feat—Stephen Curry (x5) and James Harden.
Not only is Pritchard on pace to become the best bench three-point shooter in NBA history, but he’s also on pace to have one of the best three-point shooting seasons in NBA history. Period.
The most threes made in a single season by a player who has never been an All-Star is 288, accomplished by Buddy Hield in the 2022-23 season. He did it in 80 games. Pritchard is on pace to get to that number in 72.
Only Curry, Harden, and Klay Thompson have cracked the 300-threes mark in a single season. Pritchard is on pace to do that in 75 games.
Obviously, a lot would have to go right for Pritchard to continue shooting the ball at this high of a level. He would have to stay healthy, continue to earn big-time minutes, and stay red-hot. But it’s not impossible.
Even if he doesn’t crack the 300 mark, he’s still on pace to absolutely shatter Ellington’s record of threes off the bench in a single season.
What Pritchard is doing right now for the Celtics is unprecedented, and he could end up in the history books by the time the season comes to an end, all while helping Boston compete for their second straight championship.