Payton Pritchard may be the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year, but that does not necessarily mean he wants to give up his new role as a starter this season. Still, the University of Oregon alum has shown no qualms with reverting to a bench role after the trade of Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for big man Nikola Vucevic upended Boston’s backcourt rotations heading into their 110-100 road win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday (Feb. 3) night.
Asked how the conversation went when he was asked to come off the bench vs. the Mavs, Pritchard replied “Real simple. I think that both (myself and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla) know it benefits our team more.”
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“(The shift to a reserve puts) another ball handler off the bench and, at the end of the day, it’s about whether you play starter minutes.”
Feb 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) reacts after scoring during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
“Do you finish games?” asked Pritchard. “I don’t really care about starting. If you want me to start, I’ll start. If you want me to come off the bench, it doesn’t matter. It’s just about when you get in, what do you do with your minutes. That’s what I was focused on today.”
As to whether he saw continuing, the Oregon native replied “You see how our team is constructed, you need somebody to come off the bench to handle the rock. And it’s good when (Derrick White) comes out and I come in. There’s always somebody that can bring it up, get us into the flow … so it just makes the most sense for our team.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Payton Pritchard on moving to the bench for the Celtics