Payton Pritchard

Pritchard grew up in Oregon with his parents, Terry and Melissa Pritchard, and three siblings, Anthony, Taylor, and Lexie. His father played college football for the University of Oklahoma.

In August 2024, Pritchard married YouTuber Emma MacDonald. His former Celtics teammate Blake Griffin officiated the wedding. In July 2026, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child.

At West Linn High School, Pritchard led the basketball team to four consecutive Oregon state championships between 2013 and 2016. He was named the 2015 Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year. Initially committed to Oklahoma, he changed his commitment in August 2015 to play for the University of Oregon Ducks.

As a college freshman in the 2016-17 season, Pritchard was the only freshman starter in the NCAA Final Four. In a regular-season game against UCLA, he hit a deep three-pointer and assisted Dillon Brooks on the game-winning shot over Lonzo Ball. He stepped into a central scoring role as a sophomore, then earned MVP honors at the 2019 Pac-12 tournament as a junior.

His senior year brought widespread national recognition. On January 30, 2020, Pritchard became Oregon's all-time career assists leader against California. He averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game during the 2019-20 campaign. Those numbers earned him consensus first-team All-American honors, the Pac-12 Player of the Year award, and the Bob Cousy Award as the top collegiate point guard in the nation.

The Boston Celtics selected Pritchard with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft. He quickly secured regular playing time in his rookie season, scoring a game-winning layup against the Miami Heat in January 2021. He made his first NBA Finals appearance with Boston in 2022.

Pritchard recorded his first career triple-double in the final regular-season game of 2023 against the Atlanta Hawks, finishing with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. In October 2023, he agreed to a four-year contract extension with Boston. He proved durable. He was the only Celtics player to appear in all 82 regular-season games during the 2023-24 season.

During Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Pritchard sank a 34-foot three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer. In Game 5, he beat the halftime buzzer with a shot from beyond half court. It was the longest made field goal in an NBA Finals game since 1997. Boston won the game 106-88, earning Pritchard his first championship.

Pritchard increased his scoring during the 2024-25 season. On March 5, 2025, he scored a career-high 43 points and made 10 three-pointers against the Portland Trail Blazers. He and teammate Derrick White became the first pair of NBA teammates to combine for 19 three-pointers in a single game.

On March 15, 2025, Pritchard set the NBA single-season record for three-pointers made by a reserve player by hitting his 219th three-pointer off the bench. He won the 2024-25 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award after receiving 82 of 100 first-place votes, appearing on every ballot.

Boston moved Pritchard into the starting lineup for the 2025-26 campaign. He made 50 starts across 79 appearances, averaging 17.0 points and 5.2 assists per game. In the 2026 postseason, he scored a playoff career-high 32 points during a first-round victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.