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Tim Bontemps
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.
“I feel like every year, you get a little bit better,” Pritchard said earlier Tuesday, before being given the award Tuesday night. “So I hope that … I’ve gotten better than I was last year. So if that means I’m stronger, more in shape, better basketball IQ.
“I’ve just been through it now, so I understand what it takes and what this team needs. I’m not saying it’s going to be scoring every night, but just this level of physicality, picking up the ball. This intensity, that’s what needs to be there every night.”
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.
It’s a role that has taken some adjusting to for the former Oregon college star, who at one point during his third season in the league — when he played in only 48 games for the Celtics — was ready to move on from Boston. Now, he has been honored as the league’s best bench player, an honor that is named after Celtics legend John Havlicek, who made the role popular during his Hall of Fame career.
“I feel like that’s probably another area of growth I’ve had, too,” Pritchard said. “Mentally, like this whole year, (I’ve) been coming off the bench around the six-minute mark, and then you don’t go in until the end of the first. You don’t go into the game knowing when you’re going to go in or anything, but as a player, young player, you might get frustrated. You might be like, ‘Oh, I’m not playing as much tonight.’
“But instead, now maturing a little bit, once you get your opportunity, you just take full advantage of it and don’t look back. Obviously, you’re going to be a little cold. You do your jumps, run around, try to stay warm, but it’s just being mentally prepared for your moment and never look back.”
Pritchard finished with 82 out of the 100 available first-place votes, along with 13 second-place votes and five third-place selections. He was the only player to appear on every ballot.
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.
The rest of the players to receive votes were Cavaliers forward De’Andre Hunter; Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid, who won the award last year; Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker; Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook; and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso.
Sixth Man is the first of the league’s seven major individual awards to be handed out, and will be followed by the Clutch Player award Wednesday — with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards as finalists — and Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, with Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green up for that honor.
The NBA also will announce the Hustle Award winner Friday, while the rest of the major honors — Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie teams — to be announced over the next few weeks.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes contributed to this report.
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