Celtics guard Payton Pritchard earns Summer League honors
A strong showing in Las Vegas from Celtics guard Payton Pritchard did not go unnoticed, as the second-year Celtic was named All-Summer League First Team on Wednesday.
In four Summer League contests, the 6-foot-2 Pritchard averaged 16.8 points and shot 47.8 percent from the field, and finished with the fifth-most three-pointers dropped per night (3.8), and averaged a Vegas-best 8.5 assists per game.
Those 8.5 dimes per night were also the second-best in Summer League history, trailing only Lonzo Ball and his 9.3 assists per game during his 2017 run.
It was a near perfect run for Pritchard and the C’s, too, but one that ultimately fell short with a 100-67 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the Summer League championship tilt.
And Pritchard noticeably struggled in that game, as the Kings’ Davion Mitchell was locked in on him throughout the night as Pritchard shot just 3-for-9 (and 0-for-6 from deep) and finished with a game-high six turnovers in 31:10.
Drafted by the Celtics with the No. 26 overall pick in 2020, Pritchard averaged 7.7 points and shot 44 percent (41.1 percent from deep) in 66 games for the Celtics last year, and is slated to begin the year as the C’s No. 3 point guard behind Marcus Smart and free agent addition Dennis Schröder.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
