Ask an NBA fan about Payton Pritchard, and likelihood is they will carry up the 2024 NBA Finals, when the Celtics guard buried halfcourt buzzer-beaters in Game 2 and Game 5 to assist Boston dispatch the Dallas Mavericks and lift Banner 18.
Those two heaves have been undoubtedly Pritchard’s most well-known shot clock beaters. But they actually weren’t his final.
Over the final two common seasons since that Finals victory, Pritchard has scored a whopping 307 factors on 132 made subject objectives in “late shot clock” conditions, which the NBA defines as zero to 4 seconds on the 24-second timer.
In 2025-26 alone, Pritchard poured in 203 factors on 89 for 204 taking pictures (43.6 p.c) in late shot clock conditions, main the whole NBA in all three classes.
Pritchard did not edge out his All-Star opponents in these classes, both; he lapped the subject. Here are the high 5 complete level scorers in late shot clock conditions this season:
- Payton Pritchard, Celtics: 203 factors
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks: 175 factors
- Kevin Durant, Rockets: 160 factors
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets: 152 factors
- James Harden, Cavaliers: 140 factors
Pritchard’s 89 late shot clock subject objectives have been 11 greater than the next-closest participant (Brunson, 78). And regardless of that prime quantity, he remained impressively environment friendly, taking pictures 43.6 p.c from the subject and 35.7 p.c from 3-point vary on buzzer-beaters. (For context, Harden was a woeful 24 p.c on buzzer-beater 3s, making 24 of his league-leading 100 makes an attempt.)
Seeing Pritchard’s title forward of perennial All-Stars at the high of those buzzer-beating leaderboards is actually eye-opening. But it should not be a shock to Celtics followers who’ve watched the ball discover its technique to Pritchard like a magnet as the shot clock expires.
That’s no coincidence, both: Pritchard prides himself on delivering when his staff is in a time crunch.
“It’s a momentum play,” Pritchard instructed reporters after a late-March win over the Atlanta Hawks. “The crowd feels it. Our staff feels it. I really feel prefer it’s essential, as a result of then, ending 1 / 4, a half, after which going into the subsequent possession — you get that power and that momentum swing.”
Pritchard has been doing an entire lot of momentum-swinging in the previous two seasons. After scoring fewer than 40 late shot clock factors in every of his first three NBA seasons, Pritchard almost doubled his buzzer-beater output throughout Boston’s title marketing campaign in 2023-24 with 63 factors on 27 buckets.
He took one other large leap in 2024-25 with 104 factors on 43 buzzer-beating photographs, then doubled that complete once more in 2025-26 with 89 made subject objectives producing 203 factors.
Of course, this exponential progress is partly a results of elevated quantity: Pritchard has set profession highs in general subject aim makes an attempt and factors per sport in every of the final three seasons, spiking as much as 17.0 factors on 13.8 photographs per sport this season whereas assuming a bigger function with Jayson Tatum sidelined.
But even with Tatum now again in the fold and Jaylen Brown enjoying like an MVP candidate, Pritchard has remained Boston’s go-to choice at the buzzer: Since Tatum’s return on March 6, Pritchard has a team-leading 47 factors in late shot clock conditions, whereas Brown is a distant second at 24. (Tatum ranks fifth with 14.)
Plenty of eyes shall be on Tatum and Brown when the Celtics begin their playoff journey Sunday at TD Garden against the Philadelphia 76ers. When the shot clock dwindles, nevertheless, flip your consideration to No. 11, as a result of there is a good likelihood the ball will discover him — and there is a good likelihood he’ll ship.
