Payton Pritchard is coming off the best season of his career. His growth at both ends of the court led to him taking home the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Even with the Jrue Holiday trade bringing in a new backcourt mate in Anfernee Simons, he'll have an even greater role in the upcoming campaign.
When asked about the opportunity that Pritchard has in front of him this season, the Boston Celtics president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, told Hardwood Houdini earlier this summer, "I haven't thought a ton about how much roster change will change Payton Pritchard's work ethic because it's always at the highest.
"He's as good as it gets with his work, so Payton will prioritize winning, which he always has, and will continue to grow his game, which he always has. That's what he does. That's who he is. I've said many times, he loves basketball. And that love [for] basketball, [that he] loves to compete, loves to play hard, those factors all matter."
Whether the five-year veteran will step into the starting lineup alongside Derrick White is a hot topic of conversation about the Celtics. There's a compelling case for that to happen. Even if it doesn't, a situation that could change before the trade deadline passes, he averaged 28.4 minutes last season; at a minimum, don't expect that to decrease.
The evolution of Payton Pritchard
The six-foot-one guard entered last season with the goal of becoming a more efficient shooter off the dribble. He finished the year ranked in the top five in effective field goal percentage among those taking at least two pull-up threes per tilt, per NBA.com. That metric adjusts field goal percentage for the added value of attempting a three-point try.
"You've got to be innovative over time," Pritchard told this author about that growth in an exclusive interview shortly before getting named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. "Looking at my game like, 'How can I affect the game more and more?' And this year, [it] was the emphasis of going into the offseason, of getting, I need to be better at shooting off the move and shooting off the dribble from three. Obviously, that was a goal of mine, so I prepared for it, and then it came through for me."
Even more impressive than seeing him develop into an even more dynamic three-point shooter was the leap he made on defense. He's always been a tenacious on-ball defender. But adding muscle and getting in even better shape earned him more opportunities to guard the opposition's best perimeter player.
From covering Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham, Pritchard took on players of various body types and consistently held his own.
Now he gets to build off last season's progress while receiving more responsibility in the absence of Holiday and Jayson Tatum. And with the Celtics knowing Pritchard is a part of their future, something that may not be the case for Simons, there's an incentive to insert him in closing lineups, even if he remains their sixth man.