Jaylen Brown Backs Payton Pritchard as Early Favorite

Basketball

Jaylen Brown has declared teammate Payton Pritchard is “easily” the favorite in the running for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.

Payton Pritchard Leading the Race For NBA Sixth Man of the Year

Awards season in the NBA is still some way off, but early predictions have the Sixth Man of the Year award seemingly locked up.

That is according to NBA sportsbooks, who have Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard as the short-odds, early-season favorite.

The 26-year-old has been a potent weapon off the bench so far this season as Boston’s insatiable hunt for consecutive NBA titles shows little signs of letting up.

Pritchard, who has featured for 26 minutes or less on seven occasions so far this season, hasn’t let restricted minutes get in his way.

It was another strong showing at TD Garden on Monday night as Boston stretched their record to 15-3 for the season. In 26 minutes off the bench, Pritchard shone once again after going 6-for-10 from 3-point range as he posted 20 points on the way to a 126-94 win against the Clippers.

He also connected with four assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Speaking postgame, teammate Jaylen Brown said: “I mean, it’s early in the season, but Payton’s been balling.

“He’s been a superstar in his role all season long. He’s always been a hard-working guy that shows up early, puts his work in, but now it’s like, you’re really starting to see the growth.

Brown also responded to a post on X posing the question whether Pritchard should be the front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year.

Pritchard is undoubtedly knocking on the door to be a starter, and could well be a significant piece of the puzzle at any other franchise. For now, he is racking up startling numbers off the bench in Boston.

267 points off the bench this season is a league-leading statistic NBA. In addition, he ranks sixth across the NBA for threes made – starters and bench players included – with 63.

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