Two years ago, Payton Pritchard was on the fringes of Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s rotation.
But over the course of last season, when Boston won its 18th NBA title, and this year, when the Celtics are hoping to repeat for the first time since Bill Russell was in uniform, Pritchard has been a constant source of energy and production off the bench, a role that was recognized by the league’s awards voters when they bestowed Pritchard with the league’s Sixth Man of the Year honor.
That’s the role Pritchard has filled admirably for the past couple of seasons with the Celtics, including averaging 14.3 points and shooting 40.7% from 3 across 80 games this season, with just three starts. Despite almost exclusively coming off the bench, he averaged more than 28 minutes per game, a sign of the importance Pritchard has for Boston on a nightly basis.
Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley, the only player in the top 20 in 3-point attempts this season to also shoot 40% or better, hitting 41.6% of his triples as part of Detroit’s surprising season, was second, getting 13 first-place, 66 second-place and 16 third-place votes. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome — who missed virtually all of last season for the Cavaliers due to injuries, had a stellar season for Cleveland off the bench, averaging 12.5 points per game while shooting 51.6% overall and 43.9% from 3-point range — was third, landing two first-place, 12 second-place and 45 third-place votes.
