Last year, Payton Pritchard’s minutes and role fluctuated. In turn, so did his performance.
But this year, he’s been one of the steadiest reserves in the entire NBA, the owner of the league’s highest offensive rating (122.6) and the second-highest net rating (+13.6).
And in last night’s blowout win over the Hornets, Pritchard exploded for a career-high 31 points on 14-22 shooting, to go along with 11 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal. It was that balanced stat-line – some playmaking, some scoring – that he was most proud of, he said postgame.
Shout-out to Payton Pritchard ☘️
Career-high 31 points on 14-22 shooting to go with 11 assists
He had 23 points and 9 assists in the first half, joining Luka Doncić as the only players to put up those numbers this season pic.twitter.com/eBLDptKGvr
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) April 13, 2024
It was a perfect cap to an excellent season for Pritchard, who signed a four-year extension in the offseason and has since blossomed into a reliable playmaker and energy spark. He credited his more consistent role for allowing him to thrive this year.
“For any player, when you’re getting spot minutes, it’s tough – you don’t know when it’s going to come,” Pritchard said. “When you do get the minutes – what is your role out there? What are you being put out there for?”
Last season, Pritchard appeared in just 48 games, averaging 13.4 minutes per night and shooting just 41.2% from the floor en route to 5.6 points per game – a career low.
Payton Pritchard is set to play in all 82 games this year, something he’s very proud of:
“Last year, they were times I didn’t play at all – how frustrating that is, and how much that hurt at times. It just fueled me to keep working.” pic.twitter.com/rUSxryTIVV
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) April 13, 2024
This season, as the primary back-up point guard, he’s appeared in every single game, and is averaging 22 minutes. In turn, he’s been more efficient across the board, averaging 9.2 points on 45.9% shooting to go along with 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds – all career-highs.
“In the past, a lot of times it wasn’t necessarily for me to be a point guard or even a playmaker – it was really to come in, try to hit some threes, bring energy defensively, rebounding, and stuff like that,” Pritchard said. “My role has definitely grown this year, and with that I’ve grown and been better at playmaking and making the game easier for myself and also for my teammates.”
It’s that playmaking role that has allowed Pritchard to thrive – his assist-to-turnover ratio (4.56) is among the best in the league – only Tyus Jones, Tyrese Haliburton, and Fred Van Fleet have better ratios (among players who have appeared in at least 60 games and average at least 20 minutes per night).
“Hopefully, by the time my career is over, that’s what I want to be the best at – being a true point guard,” Pritchard said. “That’s where I kind of want to hang my hat on, but it’s definitely a process, and I want to keep working on it.”
Joe Mazzulla said last night, as he has many times throughout the year, that Pritchard has become a complete basketball player, competing hard on both ends with no real weaknesses to his game. He acknowledged that this is the first season of Pritchard’s four-year career where he’s had a consistent, defined role — and gotten the chance to play consistent minutes.
“Every night, it could be different – it could be shooting, it could be ball-handling, it could be defense, it could be rebounding,” Mazzulla said. “He really takes pride in game management – end of quarters, start of quarters, scanning the floor. It’s been really good to watch him play.”
