'Pritchard Named Sixth Man of the Year for Celtics'
Boston Celtics shooting guard Payton Pritchard was selected as the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year on Tuesday.
Pritchard earned a total of 454 points in the voting process, including 82 out of 100 first-place votes from a global media panel.
Malik Beasley of the Detroit Pistons came in second with 279 points and 13 first-place votes. The third finalist, Ty Jerome of the Cleveland Cavaliers, received 91 points and two first-place votes.
In his fifth season with the Celtics, Pritchard achieved career highs in points (14.3), rebounds (3.8), and assists (3.5) while playing in 80 games. He came off the bench in all but three games and was the team's fifth-highest scorer in the regular season.
Prior to the announcement, Pritchard expressed his satisfaction with his consistent performance and improvement throughout the season. He also mentioned his dedication to continuously elevate his game, especially in the playoffs.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens praised Pritchard's dedication and commitment to the game, stating that he is a valuable asset to the team and a deserving recipient of the award named after former Celtics player John Havlicek.
Pritchard scored a total of 1,079 points off the bench, the highest among all reserves in the NBA this season.
He also had an impressive 3-point shooting percentage of 40.7%, making a career-high 255 shots from beyond the arc (3.2 per game). As a reserve, he made 246 of those shots, setting a new NBA record.
