What Payton Pritchard said about his Sixth Man of the Year chances
“I feel like I put myself in the best situation possible to win it, so I’m proud of that," Pritchard said.
For most of the year, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard has been the favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Now that the regular-season is over, Pritchard said he is honored to be in the mix, but not too focused on what the final outcome will be.
“I feel like I put myself in the best situation possible to win it, so I’m proud of that,” Pritchard said. “I feel like I’ve done my job as far as helping this team come off the bench and be a spark and try to be the best bench player in the league.”
“At the end of the day, if I get voted for it, it’s an unbelievable award and it would be a great honor,” he added. “But, at the end of the day, it’s out of my control if they vote for me or not. We’ll see though.”
The Celtics, after all, are embarking on what they hope will be a deep playoff run. They will host either the Hawks or the Magic at TD Garden in the first round this weekend.
Pritchard said he doesn’t plan on campaigning for the award.
“There’s no need for that,” Pritchard said. “If I get that, it’s not going to stop my journey. It’s not going to stop the work I put in.”
“It would just be another stepping stone,” he added. “People can write about it if I get it and say I have an award but at the end of the day I’m looking to keep growing and growing and the future, I don’t know what that holds.”
The veteran guard who once asked the Celtics to trade him because he wasn’t getting enough playing time has transformed into one of the best role-players in the league. He’s averaging a career-high 14.1 points and shooting 3-pointers at a 40.9 percent clip.
His shooting ability, scrappiness, and knack for hitting half-court heaves has made him into a fan favorite. He gets a kick out of seeing Celtics fans wear “Pritch Please” shirts at the games.
“I thought it was very catchy. Very catchy,” Pritchard said. “People picked it up quickly and I said I’m going to have to get a percentage of that because I see it everywhere so we made that happen and it’s still blowing up. It’s fun. It’s catchy and I like it. Fans like it. So, hopefully it continues.”
Pritchard, who recently signed a shoe deal with Converse, said this is no time to get caught up in recent successes. He has come a long way, but there is still work left to do.
“I hope it represents that I’m on the right path,” Pritchard said. “My hard work has taken me to these places, so for me it just shows that I shouldn’t stop what I’m doing and continue every day to get better and better and things like this that you thought maybe were never going to happen. Like I said, you never know what the future can hold.”
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