Payton Michael Pritchard (born January 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. As a sophomore, Pritchard was named second-team all-conference in the Pac-12. As a senior, he was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy.
Pritchard was drafted 26th overall in the 2020 NBA draft by the Celtics and reached the NBA Finals with the team in 2022.
High school career
Pritchard won four consecutive state titles with West Linn High School and earned 2014 and 2015 Todd Pratt Player of the Year, Oregon Class 6A Player of the Year and 2015 Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year. He averaged 22 points and 5.8 assists per game as a junior (2014–15) and 23.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.1 steals as a senior (2015–16). A four-star recruit in the ESPN ranking, Pritchard committed to the University of Oregon Ducks in August 2015. He had previously committed to Oklahoma, where his father Terry played football. Pritchard scored 45 points in the Northwest Shootout, an all-star game between players from Oregon and Washington.
Pritchard played multiple future NBA stars and lottery picks at the Les Schwab Invitational throughout his high school career, such as Ben Simmons, Jaylen Brown, and Jahlil Okafor.
College career
In his freshman year (2016–17), Pritchard made 39 appearances for the Ducks, averaging 7.4 points and 3.6 assists per game. In a game against UCLA, he made a deep three to pull the Ducks within one behind assisting on Dillon Brooks game-winning three over Lonzo Ball. Oregon made its first Final Four appearance since the first NCAA Tournament ever, and Pritchard was the only freshman to start in that year's Final Four.
On November 25, 2017, Pritchard scored a career-high 29 points to go along with eight assists and six rebounds in an 84–79 win over DePaul. He was the lone returning starter for the Ducks in his sophomore year (2017–18) and averaged a markedly higher 14.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game.
As a junior, Pritchard got off to a disappointing start but turned it up late in the season leading Oregon to an improbable Pac 12 Tournament Championship and reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 12.9 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game and was named MVP of the Pac-12 Tournament. Following the season, Pritchard declared for the 2019 NBA draft but later decided to return to Oregon for his senior season.
As a senior, Pritchard was one of the best players in collegiate basketball. On January 18, 2020, he scored 22 points and drained a 30-foot shot with 3 seconds left to complete a 16-point comeback win over Washington in overtime 64–61. On January 30, Pritchard scored 21 points in a 77–72 win against California and became Oregon's all-time assists leader. He scored a career-high 38 points in a 73–72 overtime win against Arizona on February 22 in a must win game to keep Oregon's hopes for a Pac 12 regular season title alive.
As a senior, Pritchard averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game, and he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Pritchard was also a consensus All-American selection and was awarded the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.