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Payton Pritchard Rumors
Payton Pritchard on starting or coming off the bench: 'It doesn't matter to me'
The conundrum has caused fans to hotly debate which guard should start. But Pritchard, for one, remains unconcerned: “It doesn’t matter to me.” “A lot of things can change in a year – you can start a couple of games, you cannot,” he said. “For me, it’s about controlling what I can control – and that’s coming into games and changing the game, and being an unbelievable player and helping my team win. So that’s the only thing I’m focused on, ever. It’s not about accolades, it’s not about starting or anything like that. It’s about: how can I become the best player possible?”
“There’s only one mindset, always – I’ve never been on any team in my life where the mindset wasn’t to try to compete for the championship,” Pritchard told CelticsBlog on Saturday, at a 1-on-1 basketball tournament he hosted in Roxbury. “People can say gap year and all that, but as a competitor, that should never be it, and that’s not the mindset of the city of Boston, either.”
Celtics to start Payton Pritchard
The Boston Celtics appear poised to elevate Payton Pritchard into the starting lineup while using Anfernee Simons as a high-scoring option off the bench for the 2025–26 season if he remains on the roster, sources informed FastbreakJournal.com. The anticipated shift comes amid sweeping roster changes. Boston will be without Jayson Tatum for the entire season due to injury and has traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis. In the wake of those moves, Pritchard is set to take on a more prominent role alongside Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
The Celtics believe Pritchard has earned the starting job through years of steady development. His familiarity with the system and readiness to handle expanded responsibilities have made him the preferred option to open games at point guard. Simons, acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in the Holiday trade, averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 70 games last season. He’s set to play on an expiring $27.7 million salary this season. While his scoring ability is proven, sources told FastbreakJournal.com that Boston entered the offseason focused on shedding salary and has struggled to find a trade partner for Simons’ contract since acquiring him. Regardless, he remains a trade candidate to monitor as he plays out his contract.
Payton Pritchard is notorious for playing basketball anywhere and with anyone, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he is part of this crowd. Pritchard previously caught attention for scoring 61 points in the Ball Don’t Stop Pro-Am. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year made a return to the competition this year, and he one-upped his previous total, pouring in 68 points this time around.
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Yet, while Celtics fans celebrated every half-court attempt, it would appear members of the Mavericks roster were growing frustrated. During a recent livestream with Jaylen Brown, former Celtics guard Kyrie Irving revealed that he’d considered throwing a punch at Pritchard during that series. “We were going to halftime,” Irving said. “I ain’t gonna lie to you, I thought about swinging. One time, just to see where he was at. I thought about swinging one time.”
Payton Pritchard: We’re going to compete for a championship, there’s only one standard
“This is the Boston Celtics,” Payton Pritchard explained to HoopsHype following Boston’s season-ending loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. “We’re going to compete for a championship. There’s only one standard. That’s the standard we’ll always live by.”
Bobby Manning: Pritchard: “We’ll put a good team together…people will elevate their roles.” pic.x.com/IxdsZJoV0a
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Bobby Manning: Pritchard: “It’s more motivating to try to get back on top.” “I’ll do everything in my power to help the team accomplish that again.” Said they’re not resting on being 1x champs. pic.x.com/zmViNhwJHa
Jared Weiss: Payton Pritchard said he and the Celtics talked to Jayson Tatum at the team hotel when they returned to NY: “We didn’t talk about basketball. That stuff is bigger than basketball now. … The basketball side, we’ll handle that. Just wanted to check in as a friend.”
Derrick White, Luke Kornet step up as Celtics remain alive against Knicks
Gary Washburn: Without Jayson Tatum, #Celtics roll to a 127-102 win over #Knicks and are money for those who bet the BOS (-4.5) line. Derrick White 34, Jaylen Brown 26, Payton Pritchard 17, Jrue Holiday 14, Al Horford 12, Luke Kornet 10, 9 reb, 7 blk; Karl-Anthony Towns 24, Jalen Brunson 22, Mikal Bridges 19, Miles McBride 11.
Bobby Manning: Payton Pritchard to me about the message Jayson Tatum sent the #Celtics: “We haven’t seen him, he’s been in New York, but he sent us a nice message talking about the game and stuff. We gotta come out, compete and win the game for him. All we’re worried about is winning Game 5 now.”
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