Payton Pritchard's growing prowess as an offensive threat and overall winner should be talked about more. The 6-foot-1 guard took home the Sixth Man trophy last season, but he's still underrated.
The way that Pritchard has evolved as a shot creator for himself and others is something that no one could have seen coming when he entered the league in 2020.
Now that the 28-year-old Pritchard has maxed out his athleticism and ball-handling skills, he's added strength to his frame and uses it to create space against bigger, longer defenders.
Pritchard has figured out a genius way to get his body into defenders during his dribble package as a means to establish breathing room, and he's miraculously become the type of guard who can get a decent shot off the dribble whenever he wants.
Again, no one saw this coming. Pritchard doesn't have Allen Iverson or Ja Morant type athleticism that allows him to create eons of space off the dribble. But Pritchard is a better shooter than both, and with equal handles. He's added strength to his frame to make up for not having generational quickness, and the results have been astounding.
Looking at Pritchard's salary this season and over the next two seasons, it's obvious that Brad Stevens has PP on a bargain deal, representing another massive win for the elite GM.
Payton Pritchard! pic.twitter.com/gCPkrAmum6
— Colin Keane (@ColinKeane_) March 8, 2026
Pritchard's averaging a career-best 16.9 points this year to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game across 63 games played (32.5 minutes per night).
Pritchard opened the year in the starting lineup before shifting to a reserve role and has kept producing, with a 42-point effort against Cleveland in November plus recent tallies of 25 points and nine assists versus Milwaukee on March 2 and 18 points in wins over Dallas and Cleveland.
Payton Pritchard | Salary
'25-26: $7.23M
'26-27: $7.77M
'27-28: $8.30M
Brad cooked. pic.twitter.com/o3pH9ASP8s
— Colin Keane (@ColinKeane_) March 9, 2026
Selected 26th overall by Boston in the 2020 NBA Draft, Pritchard has developed steadily during his six seasons in the league. He won a title in 2024 as a member of Boston's rotation, and his contributions keep growing.
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