Celtics G Payton Pritchard wins Sixth Man of the Year

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Boston Celtics sharpshooting guard Payton Pritchard was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year on Tuesday.

Pritchard received 454 total points in balloting, including 82 of 100 first-place votes from a global media panel.

The Detroit Pistons’ Malik Beasley was second at 279 points and 13 first-place votes. The third finalist, Ty Jerome of the Cleveland Cavaliers, had 91 points and two first-place nods.

Pritchard, in his fifth NBA season all spent with the Celtics, averaged career highs of 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 80 games, coming off the bench in all but three. He was the defending NBA champions’ fifth-leading scorer in the regular season.

Ahead of the announcement, Pritchard said Tuesday that he was pleased with “my consistency game in, game out. Just limiting overall bad games, I’m proud of that. Just my efficiency shooting-wise, I think, has been really good this year, and just every summer finding different ways to get better and better and elevate my game, especially in the playoffs. And then hopefully next year comes and I elevate it again.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement, “Payton is one of the most dedicated players I’ve ever been around. He truly loves the game and is committed to the work that goes into being great. In addition, he’s driven by winning and doing whatever it takes to help the team.

“Payton is a baller — and his teammates know what they are getting every single day in terms of effort, care and commitment. For him to be honored with the award named after (former Celtics) great John Havlicek is a credit to all that he brings to the table for our team.”

His 1,079 total points off the bench were the most of any reserve in the NBA this season.

Pritchard shot 40.7 percent on 3-point attempts, making a career-high 255 of them (3.2 per game). He hit 246 of those as a reserve, the most in NBA history.

–Field Level Media