American professional basketball player Payton Michael Pritchard was born on January 28, 1998, and plays for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
As a sophomore, he was named to the Pac-12 second team all-conference while playing collegiate basketball for the Oregon Ducks. In his final year, Pritchard was a Naismith College Player of the Year finalist.
Pritchard, who was chosen by the Celtics 26th overall in the 2020 NBA draft, made it to the NBA Finals with the team in 2022 and 2024, winning a title in 2024. He won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in 2025.
In addition to winning four straight state titles with West Linn High School, Pritchard was named Todd Pratt Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015, Oregon Class 6a Player of the Year, and Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year in 2015.
The Boston Celtics defeated the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets 130-126 in double overtime on Friday night thanks to 32 points from Payton Pritchard and 27 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds from Jaylen Brown.
With 0.4 seconds remaining in the first extra period, Hugo González made a 3-pointer to force the second overtime. Alonso buried the wide-open shot from the corner after Baylor Scheierman supplied the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass.
In the second overtime, the Celtics, who had won four of the last five games, never fell behind. With 1:51 remaining, Sam Hauser’s 3-pointer made it 128-124 after Anfernee Simmons’ three-point play put Boston ahead for good.
Two days after losing to the crosstown New York Knicks 120-66, the Nets almost eliminated the second-place club in the Eastern Conference with 30 points from Michael Porter Jr. and a career-high 21 points from Nolan Traore.
Nic Claxton finished with 19 points for the Nets, who have dropped nine of ten games, and forced overtime with a putback slam with 1.9 seconds remaining.
With 7.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime, Brooklyn had a 117-112 lead. After fouling Traore, who made one of two free throws to set up González’s tying three, Pritchard converted a 3-pointer for Boston.
Brown finished his sixth career triple-double with three rebounds in the second overtime.
With 3:06 remaining in regulation, the Celtics lead 101-91, but the Nets went on a 13-3 run to end the game.
His father, Terry, was a football player at Oklahoma, where he had previously committed. In the Northwest Shootout, an all-star match between Oregon and Washington players, Pritchard scored forty-five points.
Pritchard won the Pac-12 Player of the Year award as a senior after averaging 20.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game. In addition, Pritchard was named a consensus All-American and won the Bob Cousy Award for being the best point guard in the country.
