Boston Celtics backup point guard Payton Pritchard was the star of the team's preseason opener win against the Denver Nuggets.
The 26-year-old, who is the primary backup to Jrue Holiday, finished 6-of-13 shooting, but every make was from three-point range. He finished with 21 points, six assists and four rebounds in 24 minutes. Pritchard scored all 21 of his points before the close of the third quarter.
PAYTON PRITCHARD CASHES IN HIS SIXTH TRIPLE OF THE GAME 😮💨pic.twitter.com/Mll55IIORW
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 4, 2024
Here is Celtics' Sam Hauser clearing some shooting space for Pritchard.
The on-court chemistry between Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard remains underrated pic.twitter.com/Q0BdwSqcLC
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 4, 2024
The NBA on ESPN account got in on the action on social media.
Payton Pritchard from DEEP 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/xK9dJiqG2F
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 4, 2024
One account on X (@dillyboyq) gave him his proper preseason props.
“He is a certified preseason demon so it makes sense.”
Celtics begin 2024-25 NBA preseason schedule





The Celtics and Nuggets tipped off the NBA's preseason with two more games later this evening between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, plus an international affair as the Utah Jazz host the New Zealand Breakers, a team from Australia's National Basketball League.
The Celtics' offseason has included many non-NBA distractions. Jaylen Brown recently made an appearance on the YouTube show Hot Ones. There was the whole drama about Jayson Tatum's poor play and lack of playing time during the Olympics. Brown also pushed forward a beef with Nike for not making the Olympic team.
In the wake of that, Brown created his own signature shoe, The Rover, released under his performance brand 741. The Celtics guard explained his reasoning to The Athletic's Jared Weiss.
“Honestly, boredom,” he said, per The Athletic's Jared Weiss. “It would be great for it to be successful. But even if it's not, who cares? I'm just kind of tired of seeing the same old things, the deals constructed the same way.
“So hopefully in the next 20 years, even if this isn't like super successful, that it sparks other athletes, other creators to have the courage to start to build stuff on their own.”
The Celtics have four more preseason contests before the start of the regular season tips off by hosting the New York Knicks on October 22 at 7:30 p.m. EST.