Payton Pritchard named finalist for NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award (2025)

Celtics

"Any opportunity that he can to put that ball in the basket, he does it."

By Conor Ryan

April 20, 2025

2 minutes to read

After orchestrating a breakout season off the bench this season, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard is unsurprisingly up for some hardware in the coming weeks.

The NBA announced its finalists for its regular-season awards on Sunday evening, with Pritchard named as one of the three finalists for the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Also in the running for the accolade is Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley, as well as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome.

Pritchard is considered the frontrunner for the award as Boston’s top offensive conduit off the bench — with the 27-year-old guard averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists over 28.4 minutes per contest in 2024-25.

The 2020 first-round pick has thrived in Joe Mazzulla’s 3-point-heavy offensive scheme over the years, ranking fifth in the NBA with 255 made shots from behind the arc this season. Only Derrick White (265) has more than Pritchard on Boston’s roster in 2024-25.

Pritchard was as advertised during Boston’s 103-86 win over the Magic on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series. The sharpshooting guard finished the game with a postseason career-high 19 points in 25 minutes of work — sinking 6 of 8 shots (including four 3-pointers) while adding three assists.

When Boston struggled to get going offensively in the first half, Pritchard kept his team afloat — scoring 11 points ahead of halftime in just seven minutes of action.

“Payton being Payton,” Celtics guard Jrue Holiday said of Pritchard’s impact. “I think when he first came out, he had like a quick 11 points. … Crazy. So I think just Payton just being Payton, taking the opportunity.

“Payton’s also a gamer. As everybody here sees — any opportunity that he can to put that ball in the basket, he does it. But what makes him special is what he does on the defensive end, picking up anybody full court, just being a dog, hounding whoever’s in front of him.”

While Pritchard’s ability to pour in 3-pointers off the bench stands as the primary reason for his Sixth Man candidacy, Mazzulla also stressed that Pritchard’s defensive mindset has been a key tone-setter for Boston in critical situations — and it was put on display once again against Orlando.

“I thought he was just as good defensively as he was offensively,” Mazzulla said postgame of Pritchard. “Just him pushing the pace on the offensive end, but really his physicality at the point of attack was big for us. … He matched the physicality that was necessary.”

If Pritchard takes home the Sixth Man of the Year Award, it would mark the fifth time a Celtics player has won the accolade since it was first handed out during the 1982-83 season.

Boston initially won three out of the first four Sixth Man of the Year Awards between Kevin McHale (‘83-84, ‘84-85) and Bill Walton (1985-86), while Malcolm Brogdon won it during the 2022-23 season.

While it would be a fitting achievement for a once-unheralded player, both Pritchard and the Celtics are remaining focused on a more lauded accomplishment — winning back-to-back championships in June.

“That’s another dog,” Jaylen Brown said of Pritchard. “He’s been showing that all year with his mentality and his mindset … Payton, his mentality has been like that all season long. So when he gets in the game, it’s no different. So today was an example of what he’s been doing all season long. We need more of that.”