Speaking earlier this month, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard brushed aside talk of campaigning for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award as the top bench player in the league. “There’s no need for that,” Pritchard said. “If I get that, it’s not going to stop my journey. It’s not going to stop the work I put in.” Sure enough, the 27-year-old guard didn’t need to make his pitch to voters ahead of awards season. Pritchard’s clear stats spoke for themselves, as the Celtics guard was named the recipient of the Sixth Man of the Year Award for the 2024-25 season Tuesday night. Pritchard took home the honor with 82 out of 100 first-place votes, giving him the edge over the other two finalists for the award in Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome. Pritchard was considered the leader in the clubhouse for the award as Boston’s top offensive spark off the bench. During the 2024-25 regular season, Pritchard averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists over 28.4 minutes per contest. Once a reserve guard buried further down Boston’s depth chart, Pritchard quickly developed into a sharpshooting threat in Joe Mazzulla’s 3-point-heavy system, ranking fifth in the NBA with 255 made shots from behind the arc this season while sinking 40.7 percent of his 3-pointers. Only Derrick White (265) has more 3-pointers than Pritchard on Boston’s roster this season. “I feel like I put myself in the best situation possible to win it, so I’m proud of that,” Pritchard said of his Sixth Man candidacy. “I feel like I’ve done my job as far as helping this team come off the bench and be a spark and try to be the best bench player in the league.” The Celtics have now won the Sixth Man of the Year Award five times since it was first handed out in 1982-83. Kevin McHale (‘83-84, ‘84-85) and Bill Walton (1985-86) won the award three out of the first four years that it was doled out, while Malcolm Brogdon won it during the 2022-23 season. Even before Tuesday’s news became official, Pritchard stressed last week that the individual accolade stands as just one of many achievements he gains in his NBA career. “I hope it represents that I’m on the right path,” Pritchard said. “My hard work has taken me to these places, so for me it just shows that I shouldn’t stop what I’m doing and continue every day to get better and better and things like this that you thought maybe were never going to happen. Like I said, you never know what the future can hold.”