Payton Pritchard says Celtics success due to Brad Stevens proclivity for underdogs
The Boston Celtics approached the 2025-26 season with an underdog mentality and underdog players. It's paid off in a big way.
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics always have good things to say about their teammates inside the locker room and at the podium. Those meetings with the media are often common places for compliments, especially during a successful season in which the now 55-26 Celtics have exceeded all expectations. But on Friday night, following a 144-118 beatdown of the New Orleans Pelicans at TD Garden, Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard praised somebody who he's never shared the court with.
When asked how the Celtics have utilized an underdog mentality and culture to forge a winning 2025-26 campaign, Pritchard commended head coach Joe Mazzulla and then the aforementioned person who was far from the floor: Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens. "I think you got to credit Joe for creating a culture of that, but also Brad, picking players that have a chip on their shoulder who love to play basketball," Pritchard said in the locker room. "A lot of us, besides (Jayson Tatum) and (Jaylen Brown), were late-round picks, and so you got to have a chip on your shoulder to make it.
" It's rare to see a player offer unprompted admiration for a general manager, yet Stevens isn't an NBA executive who only lurks in the press box or rarely visits the arena. He's a former college coach and Celtics skipper who used to work alongside Pritchard and is more than familiar with the roster he built. And that squad Stevens developed is indeed littered with underdogs.
Friday night was even a showcase of sorts for them. Pritchard dazzled off the bench with 21 points and 10 assists, Celtics center Luka Garza — who averaged less than 6 minutes per game with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season — recorded 14 points and 6 rebounds in just 16 minutes, and former undrafted wing Sam Hauser bombarded the Pelicans with 24 points (courtesy of 8 triples). "I feel like a lot of guys in this locker room, every time they get a chance to play, they want to come out and prove that they're worthy of being a rotational player, starter, or whatever it is," Pritchard said.