Payton Pritchard’s Case for 6th Man of the Year
Written by Joseph Medeiros
Payton Pritchard etched himself in NBA Finals history with his unforgettable half-court shot before halftime of Game 5. The play was the icing on the cake for the Celtics, who dominated the Mavericks to win their first NBA championship since 2008.
The Celtics’ preseason has wrapped up and Payton Pritchard has picked up where he left off. But just how well does Pritchard have to play to be the sixth man of the year?
Payton Pritchard is in his fourth season with the Celtics after he was selected 26th overall in the 2020 draft. Pritchard played at Oregon, where he racked up accolades like the Bob Cousey Award, Lute Olson Award, and Pac-12 Player of the Year. He was the only freshman to start in the Final Four and, in his junior year, took Oregon to the Pac-12 Championship.
Pritchard was selected by the Celtics partly because of his ability to rise to the occasion, as he was a big-time shotmaker for the Ducks. Pritchard has needed some time to develop with the Celtics, but last season we got a glimpse of what could be with Pritchard coming off the bench.
Pritchard averaged 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for the Celtics last year on an average of 22.3 minutes per game in the regular season. He was efficient from the floor shooting 46.8% and a highlight 38.5% from three.
The analytics show Pritchard’s path for the sixth man of the year is attainable. Looking at the past winners of the award the criteria look to be: The player scored 18+ points on a 42+ win team (16 winners since 2006), or in cases there was no 18+ scorer, The player scored 12+ points on a 49+ win team(17/19 last winners on 49+ win teams).
The Celtics will be a dominant team this year and should easily pass 49 wins on the season considering their current over/under is 58.5. The key to Pritchard’s success will be his efficiency and his defense.
At 6’1 and 195 pounds Pritchard can often be a player that opposing teams target when he is on the floor, if he can prove to coach Mazzulla that he can hold his own he will get more minutes. When Pritchard is on the floor his efficiency is going to be viral, if he can shoot from behind the arc consistently, and at that 40% average, he can easily average 12 a game.
The Celtics start their regular season on Tuesday against the Knicks at 7:30 pm and the defending champions will be looking to temper the league’s hype over the Karl Anthony Towns trade. Payton Pritchard has +4000 odds to win 6th man of the year, sportsbooks don’t have faith in him, but Pritchard seems to love proving people wrong.
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