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After trading Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Boston Celtics are reportedly positioning their Sixth Man of the Year guard, Payton Pritchard, for a promotion into the starting lineup. Despite losing All-Star Jayson Tatum due to a ruptured Achilles, Pritchard still has championship aspirations for 2025-26 heading into his sixth NBA season.
Ever since he was selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Pritchard has improved facets of his game to eventually become recognized as the league’s best sixth man off the bench. Now, Pritchard has earned the opportunity to start for Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, per Fastbreak Journal’s Grant Afseth.
“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,” Afseth reported.
Pritchard averaged 14.3 points on 47.2% shooting, including 40.7% from deep, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 0.9 steals per game last year. After the Celtics traded Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers for Simons, many considered Anfernee to be a potential trade piece for Boston to utilize in a second trade, which never materialized.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens still managed to shed enough salary cap space to take Boston out of the CBA’s dreaded second luxury tax apron. Trading Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Georges Niang, who the Celtics acquired in the three-team deal that sent Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks, led the Celtics out of the second apron. Anfernee Simons is still rumored to be traded, while moving Payton into the starting 5 makes a lot of sense.
Payton Pritchard sends Celtics championship message
While many anticipate the Celtics won’t be contending for a championship in 2025-26, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard, thinks otherwise, as he prepares for an increased role. Despite losing Jayson Tatum for the majority of the upcoming season, Pritchard doesn’t see why the Celtics won’t be in a position to compete for a second title in three years, he said, per NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.
“We’re definitely trying to be a playoff team,” Pritchard told Forsberg. “We’re trying to win the championship. It’s not even about the playoffs. We have one standard in Boston, and it’s to win the championship. So, everybody in that locker room will have the goal of competing for a championship, and we will do everything in our power to go for that. That’s what [fans] should know.”
The 2025-26 Celtics could be more competitive than fans anticipate.
