From Red Auerbach to Danny Ainge to Brad Stevens, the general managers of the Boston Celtics all have completed trade heists that delivered the Celtics to NBA titles. But all three of those roster builders also subscribed to a much-repeated mantra: Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.
That’s all we can think about while watching Payton Pritchard’s sizzling start to the 2024-25 season. Pritchard has produced four straight games of 20+ points off the Boston bench, muscling into rarified air for a team that has fueled its success with elite Sixth Men through the years.
Here are six of our favorite Pritchard stats from his hot start to the 2024-25 campaign:
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140.8
That’s how many points per 100 shot attempts that Pritchard is averaging this season, per Cleaning the Glass data. That number is 21.5 points higher than his career-best mark last season and ranks No. 1 among all point guards in the NBA.
For context, Jayson Tatum is at 122.6 points per 100 shot attempts, which ranks 16th among wings. This is typically a big man-dominated metric given their efficiency around the basket. And yet there's Pritchard, in part because he’s shooting 73.2 percent on everything inside the paint this season, including 70 percent at the rim.
Not bad for a guy who’s typically the smallest player on the court.
6.8 percent
Even as his usage rate soars this season, Pritchard remains one of the steadiest ballhandlers in the NBA. He’s committed one or zero turnovers in 17 of his 21 appearances this season.
Pritchard ranks sixth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.6. Only Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey has a better turnover percentage (6.7) among point guards, and Pritchard is only a fraction of a point behind, per Cleaning the Glass data.
-13.1 percent
Pritchard is holding his opponents to 34.1 percent shooting over his last five games -- or 13.1 percent below expected output in that span -- all while defending 8.2 shots per game, per NBA tracking. Most notably, opponents are shooting 7.6 percent below expected inside of six feet. Not too shabby for a small guard.
Opponents keep trying to take advantage of his size, but Pritchard makes up for that with technique and grit.
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78
That’s how many 3-pointers that Pritchard has connected on this season, the sixth-most in the NBA.
Despite his bench role, Pritchard trails only Anthony Edwards (90), LaMelo Ball (84), Jayson Tatum (83), and Malik Beasley (79). He’s tied with Donovan Mitchell and one spot ahead of Miami's Tyler Herro and Celtics teammate Derrick White.
Pritchard is already more than halfway to his 2023-24 total of 147 made 3s, and we’re only a quarter of the way into the season.
1
That’s where Pritchard ranks among the NBA's highest-volume 3-point shooters in 3-point percentage.
At 43.1 percent, Pritchard tops the 20 players who attempt at least 8 3s per game, slotting ahead of both Edwards (42.3) and Stephen Curry (41.9). Teammate Derrick White is actually fourth on that list at 41.8 percent.
Shift it back to the 60 players averaging at least six 3-point attempts per game, and Pritchard is still sixth in the NBA in 3-point percentage.
122.1
This is Boston’s offensive rating with Pritchard on the floor. Only Sam Hauser (124.9), Jaylen Brown (123.2) and White (122.2) have better marks.
Pritchard, a net rating darling who finished second only to Hauser the NBA last season, is at +9.3 so far this season, even if the Celtics’ bench hasn’t had quite the same net impact to this point in the season. Pritchard was at +13.6 last season.