When Payton Pritchard was selected with the 26th pick of the 2020 draft by the Celtics, the undersized guard was widely viewed as a potential rotation piece. Six years later, he has become one of the most essential players on the roster.
This week, Pritchard agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million extension that will begin during the 2028-29 season. Hornets coach Charles Lee, a Celtics assistant during the 2024 championship season, said Wednesday when his team lost a preseason game at TD Garden that while the payday is certainly nice for Pritchard, his focus always seemed to be elsewhere.
“You can probably take the money out of it,” Lee said. “He just loves to hoop. And so every day to be able to lace it up, to compete, he finds like great joy in that. I remember coming in in the morning, and he’s having a blast over there doing his ballhandling and barefooted drills on the side of the court and stuff. He’s just a maniac, and he loves it. I think that’s what drives him.”
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Pritchard’s tenure had some bumps. As his playing time dipped during his third season, he requested a trade and later publicly voiced his frustrations when the Celtics kept him.
He never let it affect his play on the court, though. He eventually seized a larger role and in 2024-25 he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. Coach Joe Mazzulla said Pritchard thrives in large part because of that internal fire.
“He just plays with a chip on his shoulder, but doesn’t have an ego,” Mazzulla said. “And I think that’s a balance that’s difficult for people to be able to have. Like, if you tell him he’s starting, if you tell him he’s coming off the bench, if you tell him he’s playing 20 [minutes], if you tell him he’s playing 30, the chip on his shoulder never changes. He doesn’t need the affirmation to be an elite competitor.”
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Pritchard would start for most teams, a truth that both he and Mazzulla understand.
“Because he’s a competitor, I don’t expect him to be happy about every decision that’s made,” Mazzulla said. “I don’t expect him to be happy that he has come off the bench more games than he started. But he’s smart enough and egoless enough, but competitive enough to know that that may give us the best chance to win over the course of time. We have a bunch of guys like that, but he’s at the top of the list.”
Mazzulla likes what he sees in Lee
Lee is entering his third season in Charlotte. Last season he led the Hornets to a 44-38 mark, a 25-win improvement from the previous season. He also finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting.
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He has caught the attention of Mazzulla, who won the award.
“I think he’s a hell of a coach,” Mazzulla said. “I think he was a great coach before he came to us. He’s a better coach now. So, they’re a great team. They do a ton off-ball offensively, they have the personnel to be able to play-make and move throughout the basketball, create indecisions because of their positioning and their ability to screen. Defensively they’re physical. Charles is a great coach. They have a great staff. They do a hell of a job.”
Coaching speaks to Walker
Former Celtics star Kemba Walker is entering his third season as a player development coach for the Hornets. Lee said Walker, who played in Boston from 2019-21, is finding his voice as a coach.
“He’s easily able to talk to guys about his experience and how the season’s a journey and a long grind and how to stay ready and how to work hard,” Lee said. “That just comes naturally. … Trying to find his creative voice in practices and drills is something I’ve really seen him grow in, and I actually feel like he’s having fun trying to figure out those new challenges.”