Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard has won the 2024-25 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, given to the league’s best player coming off the bench. He received the John Havlicek Trophy for this honor.
This is the first time Pritchard has won the award. He is the fourth Celtics player to get it, joining Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, and Malcolm Brogdon.
In his fifth NBA season, the 6-foot-1 Pritchard had his best year yet. He averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 28.4 minutes per game over 80 games (he started only 3). He shot a personal best 47.2% from the field and 40.7% from three-point range. He scored 1,079 points off the bench—more than any other player in the league.
Pritchard also made 255 three-pointers this season, the fifth-most in the NBA. Out of those, 246 came off the bench, setting a new NBA record for most threes by a bench player in one season. That’s also the second-most threes ever in a season by a Celtic.
Pritchard helped Boston to a 61-21 record, the third-best in the NBA, and the No. 2 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
To qualify for this award, players must have come off the bench in more games than they started. The winner was chosen by a group of 100 media members around the world. An independent accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, counted the votes.
