Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard may have just won the 2024-25 Sixth Man of the Year Award, but he's not letting that honor distract him from the main thing: winning another championship.
"I'm glad to get it," the guard told reporters on Wednesday. "But my mind has quickly shifted to, like, the main goal is to win a ring. It's great to have this award, but to cap off the season, I'd much rather have a ring with it than an individual award. So the most important thing is to get this for the team and the city."
Watch that answer below:
Payton Pritchard isn’t satisfied with just winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award this year:
— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) April 23, 2025
“…The main goal is to win a ring. Like, it's a great to have this award, but I'd much rather have a ring than an individual award. The most important thing is to get this for the team… pic.twitter.com/IIhgoIk2mp
Pritchard racked up a career-high line this year, averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while also playing a career-high of 28.4 minutes. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, the 27-year-old credited that success to putting in the "work over time."
"It's like a compounding effect," Pritchard said. "You never know when you're going to break through. So over time, just getting a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better."
At the moment, the defending champion Celtics are gearing up for Game 2 of their playoff series vs. the Orlando Magic, which Boston currently leads 1-0. In Game 1, Pritchard had 19 points off the bench, more than starters Jayson Tatum (17 points) and Jaylen Brown (16); he'll surely be looking to recreate that success (and live up to his newfound Sixth-Man status) come Wednesday night.
Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Payton Pritchard Shrugs Off Sixth Man Award With Title Pursuit Front of Mind.
