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Payton Pritchard

Payton Michael Pritchard (born January 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. As a sophomore, Pritchard earned second-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12. In his senior year, he was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy. Selected 26th overall in the 2020 NBA draft by the Celtics, Pritchard reached the NBA Finals with the team in both 2022 and 2024, securing a championship in 2024.

High school career

Pritchard won four consecutive state titles with West Linn High School and earned 2014 and 2015 Todd Pratt Player of the Year, Oregon Class 6A Player of the Year and 2015 Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year. He averaged 22 points and 5.8 assists per game as a junior (2014–15) and 23.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.1 steals as a senior (2015–16). A four-star recruit in the ESPN ranking, Pritchard committed to the University of Oregon Ducks in August 2015. He had previously committed to Oklahoma, where his father Terry played football. Pritchard scored 45 points in the Northwest Shootout, an all-star game between players from Oregon and Washington.

College career

In his freshman year (2016–17), Pritchard made 39 appearances for the Ducks, averaging 7.4 points and 3.6 assists per game. In a game against UCLA, he made a deep three-point shot to pull the Ducks within one point and assisted on Dillon Brooks' game-winning three-pointer over Lonzo Ball. Oregon made its first Final Four appearance since the first NCAA Tournament ever, and Pritchard was the only freshman to start in that year's Final Four.

On November 25, 2017, Pritchard scored a career-high 29 points to go along with eight assists and six rebounds in an 84–79 victory over DePaul. He was the lone returning starter for the Ducks in his sophomore year (2017–18) and averaged a markedly higher 14.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game.

As a junior, Pritchard got off to a disappointing start but improved his play late in the season leading Oregon to an improbable Pac 12 Tournament Championship and reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Pritchard averaged 12.9 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game and was named MVP of the Pac-12 Tournament. After the season, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft but later decided to return to Oregon for his senior season.

As a senior, Pritchard was one of the best players in collegiate basketball. On January 18, 2020, against Washington, he scored 22 points and made a 30-foot shot with three seconds left to complete a 16-point comeback as Oregon won in overtime 64–61. On January 30, Pritchard had 21 points in a 77–72 victory over California and became Oregon's all-time assists leader. He scored a career-high 38 points in a narrow 73–72 overtime victory over Arizona on February 22 in a must-win game to keep Oregon's hopes for a Pac-12 regular season title alive. Pritchard finished the job in Oregon's regular-season finale with 29 points against Stanford, securing Oregon's second Pac-12 regular season title during his career. As a senior, Pritchard averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game, and he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Pritchard was also a consensus All-American selection and was awarded the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.

Professional career

Boston Celtics (2020–present)

Pritchard was selected with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. On November 24, 2020, he signed a four-year, $10.5 million rookie contract with the Boston Celtics including team options in the third and fourth year. Pritchard impressed in his professional debut scoring 17 points in a preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers on December 15. In the absence of Kemba Walker, Pritchard was fourth in playing time through the first five games, behind only Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart. On January 4, 2021, Pritchard scored a career-high 23 points in a 126–114 victory over the Toronto Raptors with eight assists and two rebounds. In the next game, he made the game-winning layup in a narrow 107–105 victory over the Miami Heat. On January 12, Pritchard earned his first NBA start, but had an underwhelming performance, scoring only two points in 28 minutes in a 96–93 loss to the Detroit Pistons. This showing came in the beginning stages of what can be described as his "rookie wall", where Pritchard struggled to be as efficient and impactful as he was early in the season. Pritchard alluded to his struggles later on in the season, but seemingly burst through this looming "rookie wall" in mid-April when Pritchard scored in double figures in six of seven games in a row including a then-career-best, 28 points in a 119–115 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 27.

Pritchard played for the Celtics in the 2021 NBA Summer League and was named All-Summer League First Team after averaging 17 points and eight assists.

Pritchard helped the Celtics reach the 2022 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games despite a 2–1 lead.

In the final game of the 2022–23 season on April 9, 2023, Pritchard tallied his first career triple-double by putting up a career-high 30 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, and a career-high 11 assists in a 120–114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The game was played primarily by back-ups on each team. Following the Celtics' exit from the 2023 playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals and due to limited minutes, Pritchard requested a trade.

On October 8, 2023, the Celtics and Pritchard agreed to a fully guaranteed four-year, $30 million contract extension. In the 2023–24 season, he saw increased playing time, averaging 22.3 minutes per game, and was the only player on the Celtics roster to play in all 82 regular-season games. On April 12, 2024, Pritchard scored a career-high 32 points while also recording with 11 assists, three rebounds, and a steal in a 131–96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, becoming the first Celtics player in the play-by-play era to record 23 points and nine assists in the first half. Two days later against the Washington Wizards in the final game of the regular season, he set another career-high of 38 points while also recording 12 assists and nine rebounds in a 132–122 victory, becoming the second Celtics player to put up at least 20 points and six assists in the first half in two consecutive games. Pritchard joined John Havlicek, Larry Bird, and Bob Cousy as the only players in franchise history to record back-to-back 30-point, 10-assist double-doubles.

During Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on June 9, Pritchard made a 34-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter as the Celtics won 105–98. Eight days later in Game 5, he made a half-court shot at the buzzer to end the first half of the close-out 106–88 victory, giving Pritchard his first NBA championship. According to the NBA, it was the longest made basket in an NBA Finals game since 1997; an NBA graphic gives the distance at 50 feet, while play-by-play results call it a 43-foot shot.

National team career

Pritchard represented the US at the 2015 FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Championship where, in his best game, he had nine three-pointers against Poland. Pritchard scored 12 points on four three-pointers in 14 minutes as a member of the USA National Select Team at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit.

Pritchard also made the U.S. squad for the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup in Egypt. He averaged 9.0 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per contest during the tournament, including 16 points against RJ Barrett and Canada. Team USA won the bronze medal, and Pritchard was named to the All-Star Five.