Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Payton Pritchard endeared himself to his veteran teammates with his grit from the first day of training camp and quickly won their respect.
During his weekly appearance on 98.5 the Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich” program, Ainge detailed how Pritchard, the No. 26 pick in November’s draft, quickly proved he belonged at the NBA level.
"It’s hard to know how it’s all going to fit when your drafting players. I really liked Payton, watching him play for the last four years at University of Oregon, but you never know how it’s going to work with a coach and with the other players on the team,” said Ainge. "He was a kid that just, from Day 1, I think he got the attention of the veteran players and the coaches. It’s just been a good fit …
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“I think his work ethic, his grit, right away he wasn’t intimidated, he felt like he belonged, he showed it in the first scrimmages that we had in training camp, and I think he just earned their respect for all those reasons.”
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There was a buzz about Pritchard from almost the first moment he stepped inside the Auerbach Center and Ainge previously raved about what he saw from Pritchard’s initial workouts.
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Pritchard has emerged as a key presence for the 2020-21 Celtics and is fourth on the team in both minutes and scoring through 10 games. Boston owns a net rating of plus-9.2 in his 229 minutes of floor time and that plummets to minus-4.8 in the 251 minutes he’s been on the bench.
"He’s been the kind of player that we needed,” said Ainge. "His shooting has been very important; he’s made some big shots and big plays. He’s shown that he can compete, defensively, against some bigger guys. He’s been a very fun player to watch so far.”
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Before the Celtics’ season paused due to COVID issues, veteran players posted videos of a shirtless Pritchard dancing on social media to celebrate recent wins. Jaylen Brown posted one after Pritchard went for 23 points and 8 assists in a win over Toronto, and Tristan Thompson followed with another after Pritchard’s game-winning putback in Miami.
“There’s definitely some rookie hazing going on with those videos, those high school videos of him shirtless dancing — not a very good dancer, by the way,” said Ainge. "Anyway, I think they’re just having fun with the rookie. He takes it really well and he goes out and competes hard.”