After a rough 2022-23 NBA season that included averaging a career-low 13.4 minutes per game, Payton Pritchard turned things around the following year — and in the playoffs — and played in all of the Boston Celtics’ 82 regular-season games.
After signing a four-year extension with Boston in October, Pritchard turned in a 2023-24 season that saw him average career-highs in points with 9.9, rebounds with 3.2 and assists with 3.4. Even with last year ending with the Celtics winning the NBA title over the Dallas Mavericks, Pritchard still wants to contribute more.
“Obviously, I’m already working this summer. I’m trying to make a jump. I think for me, I’ve always been a person that’s never been a goal setter trying to win these awards or anything like that because that’s out of my control,” Pritchard said during a recent appearance on the “Point Forward” podcast. “For me, if I can make a jump in certain areas, offensively and become even more efficient in different parts of the game. My coaches have talked about it, being able to shoot off the dribble at a higher clip, like step-backs and stuff. …”
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Pritchard is also looking at other ways to improve his game and be “more of a pest” when he’s on the court.
“Defensively, just figuring out a way to even make more of a impact as far as kind of being more of a pest, even though I am on ball,” Pritchard said. “But learning how to take charges at a higher rate. Some of that stuff goes down to watching film and I also got two dudes who do it in their own right. For me, that’s the standard. That’s the standard I’m trying to get to. That’s two things I got on my list I want to improve this year.”
The Celtics are essentially bringing back the same championship roster into 2024-25 as they look to repeat as champions. Pritchard has a lot of solid veterans to learn from and seek advice from, and it’s clear he’s ready to take his game to an even higher level and contribute even more than he did last season.
