Six-time All-Defensive Team Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday believes that bench point guard Payton Pritchard deserves to nab Sixth Man of the Year honors this season — and it shouldn't even be close, per NBC Sports Boston's Christ Forsberg.
“If he’s not Sixth Man of the year, then this is rigged,” Holiday opined. “My man, he’s breaking records."
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Pritchard broke the league's previous record for most 3-pointers scored for a bench player when he notched five triples during Boston's 115-113 victory against the Brooklyn Nets on March 15. He broke then-Miami Heat swingman Wayne Ellington’s old record of 218 made bench treys.
As Forsberg notes, the 27-year-old has scored 232 of his 236 made 3-pointers as a reserve (he was pressed into starting duty on Sunday).
"We really need him and I think he's realized that we really need what he brings to our team, in terms of scoring and playmaking and big-shot making," Holiday continued. "So it's really cool to see, just even the elevation from last year to this year, to be able to take that big of a leap is pretty cool.”
Current Detroit Pistons reserve shooting guard Malik Beasley, another major contender for Sixth Man of the Year hardware this season, has 214 made triples off the bench this year already. He seems likely to overtake Ellington's 218 bench 3-pointers and then-Orlando Magic shooting guard Terrence Ross' 217 reserve triples at some point this year, but he may be too far behind Pritchard to catch him this year.
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Former All-NBA Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas still holds the team's single-season record for made treys with 245 in 2016-17, followed by All-NBA power forward Jayson Tatum's 240 in 2022-23. All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White (237), Tatum (236), and Pritchard (the aforementioned 236) all seem likely to surpass the Thomas record this season.
Pritchard's 997 made bench points pace the entire league. Only three Celtics players have nabbed 1,000 points or more as a reserve. Hall of Fame center Kevin McHale, a two-time Sixth Man of the Year himself, achieved the feat three times, Forsberg observes. Shooting guard/small forward Ricky Davis and 2023 Sixth Man of the Year guard Malcolm Brogdon did it once.
Last night was Payton Pritchard’s 22nd game this season with 5+ made 3’s.
The only players with more are Malik Beasley, Ant Edwards and Steph.
He’s shooting 56% from 3 in these games. pic.twitter.com/uFToCsO6Ey
— Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) March 25, 2025
In his 71 healthy contests for the 53-19 Oregon product, the 6-foot-1 Pritchard is averaging 14.3 points on .468/.417/.838 shooting splits, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists a night.
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