Celtics' Payton Pritchard breaks silence on whether he cares about starting

Celtics' Payton Pritchard breaks silence on whether he cares about starting originally appeared on The Sporting News

Reports have indicated that the Boston Celtics are expected to start Payton Pritchard during the 2025-26 season. For Pritchard, it makes perfect sense. 

He's earned a starting job with Jayson Tatum out, and with the Celtics having to move on from multiple other players, including Jrue Holiday, he should fit in well in that guard spot. 

Pritchard is coming off his best season yet, appearing in 80 games and winning the Sixth Man of the Year award after averaging 14.3 points per game and shooting 40.7% from 3-point range on 7.8 attempts per game. 

Is Payton Pritchard ready for a major role?

However, others believe that Anfernee Simons, the $100 million guard the Celtics recently acquired in the Holiday trade, could be a starter. 

When discussing whether it’d be him or Simons, Pritchard didn't seem to worry about the outcome. 

"It doesn’t matter to me," said Pritchard in an interview with CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell. "A lot of things can change in a year – you can start a couple of games, you can not (start)."

Pritchard understands what it's like to play in the NBA at the highest level, even requesting a trade a few years ago to get a better opportunity elsewhere. 

MORE:Celtics trade proposal sends 19.3 ppg guard to West contender for $133 million forward

Instead of running from the grind, he stayed strong in Boston and has been compensated for it fairly. He won a championship, the Sixth Man of the Year Award, and has gotten paid handsomely. 

"For me, it’s about controlling what I can control – and that’s coming into games and changing the game, and being an unbelievable player and helping my team win," he explained.

"So that’s the only thing I’m focused on, ever," added Pritchard. "It’s not about accolades, it’s not about starting or anything like that. It’s about how can I become the best player possible."