Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday doesn’t want to hear any deliberation when it comes to the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award voting this year. He thinks it should go to Payton Pritchard.
Following Pritchard’s latest brilliant performance in which he scored 22 points while burying five three-pointers during the Celtics’ win over the Sacramento Kings, Holiday told reporters that something is seriously wrong if Pritchard doesn’t take home the honor this season.
“If he’s not Sixth Man of the year, then this is rigged,” Holiday said, via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “My man, he’s breaking records.”
Pritchard has drained 236 triples on the year, 232 of which have come off the pine. That is an NBA record for a bench player. Wayne Ellington previously held the mark at 218, and Pritchard still has a few weeks of basketball left to continue expanding the gap.
The 27-year-old—who has become famous for his trademark halfcourt buzzer-beaters—is averaging 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists over 28.3 minutes per game on 46.8/41.7/83.8 shooting splits during the 2024-25 campaign. He owns a true-shooting percentage of 63.8 percent and is registering .185 win shares per 48 minutes.
On top of his offensive production, Pritchard is also a fierce defender, and what he lacks in size (he stands just 6-foot-1) he makes up for in tenacity and savvy.
“I used to play against Payton, so the times that I’ve seen him play and played against him, you could tell that he’s always had a chip,” added Holiday. “And I’m pretty sure, even in terms of being shorter, he has always had that dog in him.”
The Celtics originally selected Pritchard with the 26th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, and aside from one rough year during his third season, he has gradually improved.
We’ll see if Pritchard can help Boston win its second straight championship this spring.
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