Pritchard claims he’s ‘the best overall athlete’ on Celtics

Pritchard claims he’s ‘the best overall athlete’ on Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics’ new approach to training camp warmups has given the players a chance to show off their athleticism.

Walking football, handball, wiffleball, and speed-walk baton pass are among the warm-up activities the Celtics have utilized to break up the monotony of practices.

“Our strength and conditioning staff does a great job of finding unique ways to make sure guys are loose, make sure they are ready for practice,” coach Joe Mazzulla said Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.

C’s guard Payton Pritchard has enjoyed turning warmups into a competition with his teammates.

“I like the warmups a lot better instead of just the generic stretches,” he said Wednesday. “That gets boring, so we’ve kind of treated it almost like kids. We played handball, we played football, wiffleball, and the walking one. So they’re more fun. It’s more competitive. It gets the juices flowing.”

When our Chris Forsberg asked Pritchard to name the best handball player on the team, the 26-year-old didn’t hesitate to give a bold response.

“I was, for sure,” he answered. “I mean, I’m probably the best overall athlete, all sports, on the team.”

Pritchard didn’t stop there. He claimed he would be “the guy” if there were a Celtics decathlon.

“I would 100 percent be the guy,” Pritchard said. “JB (Jaylen Brown) might think he might be. Actually, D-White (Derrick White), Sam (Hauser), we have some good ones but I think through all sports, I think I get it for sure.”

“It’s not confidence, it’s the truth,” he added.

Whether Pritchard is the C’s best athlete is up for debate, but there’s no denying he’s the team’s best half-court shooter. He cemented himself in Celtics lore with unforgettable half-court buzzer-beaters in Games 2 and 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

Pritchard will resume his role as a key piece of the Celtics’ bench unit for the 2024-25 NBA season. Boston will begin preseason play with games vs. the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 4 and 6.