Celtics' Payton Pritchard named NBA's Sixth Man of the Year - ESPN

Two years ago, Payton Pritchard was on the fringes of Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla's rotation.

But over the course of last season, when Boston won its 18th NBA title, and this year, when the Celtics are hoping to repeat for the first time since Bill Russell was in uniform, Pritchard has been a constant source of energy and production off the bench, a role that was recognized by the league's awards voters when they bestowed Pritchard with the league's Sixth Man of the Year honor.

«I feel like every year, you get a little bit better,» Pritchard said earlier Tuesday, before being given the award Tuesday night. «So I hope that… I've gotten better than I was last year. So if that means I'm stronger, more in shape, better basketball IQ.

»I've just been through it now, so I understand what it takes and what this team needs. I'm not saying it's going to be scoring every night, but just this level of physicality, picking up the ball. This intensity, that's what needs to be there every night."

That's the role Pritchard has filled admirably for the past couple of seasons with the Celtics, including averaging 14.3 points and shooting 40.7% from 3 across 80 games this season, with just three starts. Despite almost exclusively coming off the bench, he averaged more than 28 minutes per game, a sign of the importance Pritchard has for Boston on a nightly basis.

It's a role that has taken some adjusting to for the former Oregon college star, who at one point during his third season in the league — when he played in only 48 games for the Celtics — was ready to move on from Boston. Now, he has been honored as the league's best bench player, an honor that is named after Celtics legend John Havlicek, who made the role popular during his