The Celtics entered the 2020-2021 campaign with one key flaw, and that flaw was not having someone who could score off the bench. Losing Gordon Hayward was a big loss for the second-unit, and with Kemba Walker sidelined for the foreseeable future, the C’s needed some kind of punch off of the bench.
The Celtics drafted Payton Pritchard with the 26th-overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft. The four-year starter from Oregon was someone who had a great amount of success at Oregon. Pritchard finished his tenure having the third most points in school history, the second most steals in school history, an the most assists in school history During his senior season, Pritchard averaged 20.5 points per game, shooting almost 47% from the floor. But, despite his college accolades, getting selected in the mid-to-late 20s would make it an uphill battle for Pritchard to succeed.
Coming into the shortened training camp, Pritchard would have to fight for minutes with Jeff Teague, Carson Edwards, and Tremont Waters. But, during the Celtics’ first preseason game, Pritchard made the most of his opportunities. He scored 16 points in 22 minutes, with a 60% FG%.
However, even after his solid preseason debut, finding minutes as a rookie is not an easy thing to do under Brad Stevens. Since, 2014, only two Celtics players have averaged more than 20 minutes per game in their rookie season. In 2014, Marcus Smart averaged 27 minutes per game, and in 2017, Jayson Tatum averaged a little over 30 minutes per game. Gaining Brad Stevens’ trust as a rookie is something that is hard to do.
Pritchard’s NBA career is certainly young, but he’s averaged 23 minutes per game in his first nine NBA games. He’s provided a spark for the second-unit, as he’s averaging 8.3 points per game, shooting 50% from the field, and has a +/- of +43.
On January 4th, in 32 minutes, Pritchard dropped 23 points, 8 assists, and was 8/13 from the field. He’s absolutely proven to be worth all those minutes Then last night against the Heat, the legend of Payton Pritchard only grew…
The Celtics and Heat were tied at 105 with less than 5 seconds left in the game. Marcus Smart went up for a contested layup, looking to draw the foul. The foul was not called, and the ball bounced off the backboard and into the hands of the Prichard. The rookie went up strong and converted the game-winning layup with 0.2 seconds left to play.
The one glaring takeaway I had during this sequence was that Pritchard was on the court during this final possession. Pritchard was joined by Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Daniel Theis on the floor. Brad Stevens believed and trusted Prichard. Having Prichard on the floor for that final possession gave the Celtics the best chance to win. That speaks volumes in itself about Prichard.
So, is it realistic to put Pritchard in the rookie of the year conversation? Look, it’s certainly early on, but Prichard has been one of the best rookies in the NBA.
It’ll be tough to keep up with some of the guys on bad teams, because they’ll get more usage than Pritchard. He’s 8th among rookies in points per game, 4th in assists per game, 3rd in steals per game, 5th in efficiency rating, 3rd in FG%, and 4th in FT%.
The Celtics have a long way to go this season, but if Pritchard can consistently be an impactful scorer off the bench, the C’s will be in business.
Now, how good can Payton Pritchard be, what’s his ceiling?
Pritchard has proven to be a good shooter, and has proven to already have that clutch gene, he’s not afraid to take a big shot. He makes hustle plays all over the court, and finishes strong at the basket. On draft night, ESPN’s Mike Schmitz compared Payton Pritchard to Fred Van Fleet, and I find that comparison to be pretty spot on.
Van Fleet did not see much action his rookie season, but his second year in the NBA has been pretty comparable to Pritchard.
VanVleet (Year 2): 20 MPG / 8.6 PPG / 42.6 FG% / 41.3 3P% / 83.2 FT % / 3.2 APG
Pritchard (Year 1): 22.9 MPG / 8.3 PPG / 50.0 FG% / 34.8 3P% / 87.5 FT% / 3.2 APG
Now, it’s certainly early in Pritchard’s career, but if he ends up becoming Fred VanVleet, it’s a huge win for Danny Ainge. It’s early on, but, Payton Pritchard pick may go down as a tremendous steal for the Celtics.