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Payton Pritchard came out of the bank and changed game for the Boston Celtics this season.
He was the only player in the NBA with more than 1,000 points in the games that did not start. Established the league record for triple made by a backup. And the voters realized all that and more, choosing the guard of the Celtics as the sixth man of the year of the League this season.
Pritchard beat Malik Beasley from Detroit and Ty Jerome de Cleveland for the award. It is the fifth time that a Celtic player won the prize: Kevin Mchale claimed it in 1984 and 1985, Bill Walton in 1986 and Malcolm Brogdon won him in 2023.
And perhaps appropriate, the prize is named after another legend of the Celtics: John Havicek.
“Payton is a Baller, and his teammates know what they are getting every day in terms of effort, care and commitment,” said the president of the Celtics, Brad Stevens, in a statement published by the team. “For him to be honored with the prize that bears the name of the great John Havicek is a loan for everything that contributes to the table for our team.”
It is the first of the NBA awards this season to advertise, and others disperse in the coming weeks. The clutch player of the year of the Clutch (Jalen Brunson in New York, Anthony Edwards of Minnesota or Nikola Jokic of Denver) will be announced on Wednesday night and the defensive player of the year (Dyson Dyson Daniels de Atlanta, Draymond Green of Golden State or Evan Mobley de Cleveland) will be announced on Thursday night.
The awards are voted for a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the League.
Pritchard led all the reserves at points (1,079 in the games in which he did not start), triples (246, not including nine more he did in his three games as a starter), along with Plus-minus (+428). And among the non -accessories, its total assistance of 257 occupied the third best in the league behind only TJ McConnell of Indiana and Scoot Henderson de Portland.
Pritchard is a favorite of fans in Boston for a series of reasons, including his energy and inclination, not to mention the will, to shoot 3s deep at the ends of the rooms and halves, even those of low percentage that in theory could damage their statistics. He also had one of the most wildlims (although technically does not count as one) in the history of the NBA on March 5, when he had 43 points, 10 rebounds and 10 triple made, all out of the bank.
The Celtics won many games independently; They were 61-21 this season. But when Pritchard was great, they were even more difficult to overcome. Boston was 17-6 this season when Pritchard left the bench and scored at least 20 points, 36-12 when he left the bench and scored at least 10 points.
Associated Press reports.
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