Doc Rivers Says He Is A Fan Of 1 Celtics Player

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has coached many teams over the last 20-plus years, but he is still perhaps best remembered as the head coach of that Boston Celtics team that won the NBA championship in 2008.

The Celtics, of course, won another world title this past June, and with an 18-4 record coming into Friday, they’re the favorites to win it all again.

Rivers’ current team is taking on those Celtics on Friday, and he said he’s a fan of backup guard Payton Pritchard, per Daniel Donabedian.

“I’ve been a fan,” Rivers said of Pritchard.

Doc Rivers said that he’s been paying attention to Payton Pritchard for more than a year:

“I’ve been a fan.” pic.twitter.com/rU1FDG7IA8

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) December 6, 2024

The Celtics came into Friday 26th in bench points per game, but they do have players on the bench who can fill it up from 3-point range, and Pritchard is one of them.

He is having a career year by averaging 16.5 points a game, and he leads Boston with a 42.8 percent mark from downtown.

The 26-year-old recently went on a mini-heater during which he had four consecutive games with at least 20 points, which included a 29-point outburst against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 29.

Thanks in part to Pritchard’s improvement offensively, the Celtics currently rank third in points per game and offensive rating, but they’re just 10th in defensive rating after they were second in that category last season.

The competition in the Eastern Conference is stiffer this season thanks to the emergence of the Cleveland Cavaliers and some big moves by the New York Knicks over the summer, but no one would be surprised if Pritchard and crew claim another Larry O’Brien Trophy this coming summer.

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