The 2025-26 season was a breakout one for Payton Pritchard. The 2024-2025 Sixth Man of the Year, Pritchard continued his momentum when Jayson Tatum was out with an injury. He looks to do the same this year.
Selected 26th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Pritchard became a featured member of the [Celtics](https://nesn.com/boston-celtics)’ lineup last year, averaging a career-high 17.0 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Pritchard’s production has placed him 15th on [The Sporting News’ shooting guard rankings](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/best-nba-shooting-guards-2026-27-anthony-edwards-austin-reaves/3f143d86211fe57be969faf6) for the 2026-27 season.
Pritchard was placed between the Thunder’s Cason Wallace and the Raptors’ RJ Barrett. When explaining his position, Steph Noh stated the following:
"Pritchard will also get a bigger role this season, projected to move into the starting lineup after the Jaylen Brown trade. He's a terrific scorer and ballhandler that can create his own looks. His size does make him a target, but he competes hard defensively."
On October 1, Pritchard became eligible for a three-year, $69 million extension, but he and the Celtics haven’t reached an agreement. If the two sides don't reach an agreement by October 19, they can revisit contract negotiations in July 2027.
Given Noh’s predictions, Pritchard could step it up and prove his value with the Celtics, with or without a deal.
### More Celtics