Does Celtics' Payton Pritchard Have an All-Star Future Ahead of Him?

The young point guard has been lighting it up this year.

Dec 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) shoots the ball against the Detroit Pistons during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Boston Celtics reserve point guard Payton Pritchard has been enjoying a banner year in 2024-25. He's already a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year honors, and has impressed Celtics beat reporters enough for at least one to call for All-Star consideration at some point.

Noa Dalzell of SB Nation and CLNS notes that Pritchard is averaging the second-best true shooting percentage in the league among the 76 players scoring at least 16.5 point or more, at a remarkable 67.4 percent. Only All-Star Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis is scoring more efficiently this season so far, with 202. points on a 70.7 true shooting percentage.

Here’s a crazy stat: of the 76 NBA players averaging at least 16.5+ points, Payton Pritchard has the second-best TS%.

Only Domantas Sabonis is is more efficient

Pritchard is averaging 16.5 points on 67.4% TS, Sabonis averaging 20.2 on 70.7% TS.

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) December 13, 2024

It's hard to see Pritchard making the cut this season, on a 20-5 reigning champion Celtics squad that could realistically see as many as four of its five starters earn All-Star accolades this spring.

All-NBA power forward Jayson Tatum seems likely to make his sixth consecutive All-Star team this year, while three-time All-Star small forward Jaylen Brown looks to be on pace to earn his fourth All-Star appearance. Both of Boston's All-Defensive Team starting guards, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, could conceivably make a trip to the All-Star Game off the bench. Heck, starting center Kristaps Porzingis, the team's third-leading scorer, could probably make a case himself had he not missed 19 contests already. The 7-foot-2 big man, once an All-Star with the New York Knicks, is averaging 20.3 points on .457/.333/.774 shooting splits, 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals in his six healthy games for the Celtics.

The 6-foot-1 Pritchard, selected withh the No. 26 pick out of Oregon in the 2020 NBA Draft, has taken a major leap in his fifth pro season with Boston. He's averaging career highs of 16.5 points on .488/.432/.841 shooting splits, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steals, along with 3.2 assists, in a career-most 28.4 minutes per bout off the bench, while playing all of Boston's games so far.

Reserves generally do not make the cut for All-Star appearances. Hall of Famers Manu Ginobili and Kevin McHale are the two exceptions to the rule. Three of McHale's seven All-Star appearances for the Celtics happened when he was a backup. Ginobili spent one of his two All-NBA seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, 2007-08, primarily as a reserve — although both of his All-Star seasons and his one other All-NBA season were mostly logged as a starter. Former three-time Sixth Men of the Year Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams were more prolific scorers in their primes than Pritchard is right now, albeit in less winning situations.

Pritchard at least has the upside to be an All-Star at some point, especially if the 26-year-old's growth from this season continues into 2025-26. It would most likely happen, however, when either Holiday or White is not on the team and Pritchard is getting more touches. Given Boston's exorbitant anticipated tax bill starting next year, it's at least conceivable that the club would look to offload either Holiday's $32.4 million salary for next year or the $28.1 million owed White in 2025-26. For this year, however, it seems unlikely that Pritchard will make the cut ahead of either guard, let alone shoo-ins Tatum and Brown.

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