Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard was one of the best bench players in NBA history this season, and he now has the hardware to prove it.
Payton Pritchard named Sixth Man of the Year after historic year

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard. Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The NBA announced on Tuesday night that Pritchard has won the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. Pritchard received a convincing 82 out of 100 first-place votes to beat out Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley and others.

Pritchard averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Celtics during the regular season.

While recent winners of the Sixth Man of the Year award have inflated their stats by starting a significant number of games, Pritchard appeared in 80 games and made just three starts.

The Celtics' Payton Pritchard used maniacal preparation to fuel his dream of making it to the NBA

In his fifth NBA season, Pritchard shot a career-high 47.2% from the field. He made 40.7% of his three-point attempts and set an NBA record with 246 three-pointers off the bench.

The Celtics may have to lean on Pritchard even more heavily in the postseason. Jayson Tatum suffered a wrist injury during Game 1 of Boston’s opening-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The six-time All-Star is listed as doubtful for Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Pritchard scored 19 points in the Celtics’ 103-86 win over the Magic in Game 1.

Celtics' Payton Pritchard runs away with NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award - Yahoo Sports