STOUGHTON, Mass. — Payton Pritchard became the second longest-tenured Celtic this summer and projects to gain more offensive responsibility this season. However, he admits he lost ground in Boston’s golf hierarchy following a new arrival.
“I would say Sam (Hauser) is probably first. Me and Mike Conley, we played a little bit in LA,” Pritchard told CLNS Media on the Garden Report from his basketball camp on Saturday. “So, we had some battles, but Mike’s better than I am. We’re 2-1 in our matches, he’s won two, I’ve won one, but I would say I’m third.”
In his conversations with Joe Mazzulla, he told Pritchard that he wants Boston to become more of a player-led team this season — something Pritchard welcomed. Conley and Pritchard squeezed rounds in between casual west coast workouts recently that included Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Hauser and Derrick White. He expects more teammates to meet George there soon, as the Celtics begin their offseason bonding.
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Pritchard already has some familiarity with Mitchell Robinson too, who he shared a room with during their youth Team USA experience. They haven’t reunited yet this summer, though Pritchard now expects Robinson, Neemias Queta and Luka Garza’s presence in the front court to become a strength for the Celtics.
Individually, Pritchard wants to reach the free throw line more often in 2026-27. As a team, they want to make better reads while maintaining their hard-playing identity.
“That’s the biggest thing, and we need everybody to take a step,” he said. “Regular season wins, you win by playing hard and then in the playoffs, you win by playing harder and smarter. That’s really the recipe.”
That’s a pivot for a team that there’s no difference between the regular season and the playoffs. A 3-1 collapse against the 76ers still irks Pritchard, because he saw no desire on Philadelphia’s end to continue the series while trailing in the second half in Game 5. Then, the Celtics let up and allowed them to become comfortable. That set up a difficult Game 6 on the road and a Game 7 which always feels like a toss-up.
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Then, the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown, a long-time mentor for Pritchard who he gave enormous credit for his development. They spent the past six seasons together while Pritchard emerged as the Sixth Man of the Year and a rotation staple in Boston. But the move didn’t stun Pritchard, given what he’s already seen in his career.
“It’s part of the business. Nothing’s actually that shocking to me anymore,” Pritchard said. “You’re just used to seeing big things and I think changes happen all the time. It always sucks to see a brother and a teammate that you played with for a long time go, but you move on and you get ready to go to war against him.”
Pritchard liked the George addition and expects him to be great for Boston given his pedigree. Robinson provides exactly what they needed in the front court, he believed, adding offensive rebounding and physicality. He sounded most excited about the Conley addition, however.
Conley, 39 this year, signed a minimum contract to depart Minnesota after parts of four seasons while spurning other free agency offers. Pritchard, who previously learned from longtime friend Blake Griffin and Al Horford whose lockers his sat next to, plans to pull from Conley throughout this year.
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And while many have expected Pritchard will make up for most of what Brown left offensively, he’s not looking at it that way. He just wants to continue making the perennial leaps that got him to this level. Because, as he observed, once you stop doing that, you’re gone.
“I look up to Mike and the career he’s had,” Pritchard said. “If I could have remotely close to the career he’s had, then that’s a very successful career. It’s somebody I’ll take a lot of things from and hopefully have a great friendship and mentorship with that. I’m going to be picking his brain all the time.”
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