During Payton Pritchard's first four seasons in the NBA, he was largely used as an end-of-the-bench reserve for the Boston Celtics. As the 26th pick in the first round in the 2020 NBA Draft after four seasons with the Oregon Ducks, he had slightly begun to live up to the late-first-round billing in Year 4, averaging 9.6 points for a Celtics team that won the title.
But the rise continued into the 2024-25 season when point guard Jrue Holiday was traded away, clearing a prominent bench role for the former Duck. Pritchard averaged 14.3 points and 3.5 assists while converting on 40.7% of his triples, winning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award.
Now coming off a season in which he started 50 games for Boston and averaged a career-high 17.0 points
and 5.2 assists, it's clear that Pritchard has far outpaced his 26th overall spot in the 2020 draft.
But just how far up would he go in a 2020 redraft?
According to The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Pritchard would go 10th overall, only behind stars such as Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey and several others.
"Pritchard took a couple years," Simmons said during an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast. "I always liked him more than it seemed like the coaches liked him and it was always unclear why he wasn't getting the car keys a little bit more, and I think the team liked him because they gave him a contract even before he'd kind of become who he became. And then he just became one of the best bench guards in the league. Last year, he moved into a whole different level."
Heading into the 2026-27 season, Pritchard has a chance to move up yet another level. The Celtics traded away last years leading scorer Jaylen Brown, who took 21.7 shots per night. While Jayson Tatum and Paul George, who arrived via the Brown trade, will take some of those looks, the door is cracked open even more for an increased amount of Pritchard shots.
Already, Pritchard is making teams with picks in the 10's and early 20's of the 2020 draft wish they could've taken him, but that regret could reach an even higher mark in the seasons to come.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Where former Oregon PG Payton Pritchard lands in redo of 2020 NBA Draft
