Boston Celtics rookie point guard Payton Pritchard recently sat down with team reporter Amanda Pflugrad to interview the Celtics’ newest floor general, touching on a wide variety of topics to help us get to know the Oregon native better.
The 6-foot-2 distributor attended his hometown University of Oregon for a full four seasons before being selected by Boston with the 26th overall pick, which he admitted surprised him a bit on draft night.
“I knew they liked me,” explained Pritchard, “[but] I only did one interview with them.
“I knew there was some interest but I didn’t know if they would actually draft me or not. So when they drafted me, I was definitely surprised. But I was really, really excited because the Celtics organization is awesome.”
WATCH: How will Brad Stevens use Aaron Nesmith on the Celtics? https://t.co/tldbPtpT40
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 26, 2020
“It’s a winning culture and throughout my career basketball so far, that’s all always what I’ve been about and a part of, so it’s going to be great,” he added.
Pritchard opened up about his congratulatory message from Portland Trail Blazer superstar Damian Lillard, noting Dame had become aware of him as his local profile began to be raised in high school and then college.
“Getting that congrats from a guy like him is is really special, because I look at him — like I’m sure a lot of players do — like a big brother,” he noted.
WATCH: Full Celtics introductory presser for Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard https://t.co/3F3YGKvnNR
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 25, 2020
The former Duck also shed some light on the board game wars he, fellow rookie Aaron Nesmith and new teammate Grant Williams have been having.
“I’ve been a winning all the board games for the most of the part. He’s only won one time. I know he put it out there on Twitter that he’s been beating us, but that’s not true. So don’t believe Grant on everything he says as part of the board games.”
Pritchard also speaks at length about the growth of his game in college and how he thinks it will fit into the NBA for the Celtics in the full interview.
He also speaks on how he’s preparing for the soon-to-arrive-season with no Summer League to get his bearings.
So, if you haven’t already seen the video posted by the team, we’ve embedded it above so you can hear it in its entirety.
