Celtics Lock Down Payton Pritchard With Two-Year, $44.2M Extension

The Boston Celtics have secured the short-term future of one of their most important players, agreeing to a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension with guard Payton Pritchard, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The deal, confirmed Tuesday, runs through the 2029-30 campaign, which carries a mutual option, and is fully guaranteed. Pritchard, the 2024-25 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, earned the raise after a career season in which he averaged highs of 17.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists while stepping into a larger role with Jayson Tatum sidelined for much of the year. The extension keeps him under contract just days before the 2026-27 season tips off, and the Celtics view him as a cornerstone of their reconfigured core. Boston traded franchise star Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer and is integrating Paul George into the lineup, which only increases Pritchard's importance as a shot-maker and closer. He underlined that value in Saturday's preseason rout of Philadelphia, coming off the bench to lead Boston with 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting.