Jrue Vacation is among the greatest guard defenders in latest NBA history.
As you possibly can think about, practices over his two seasons with the Celtics have been a welcome problem.
From All-Star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to sharpshooters Derrick White and Sam Hauser, there have been loads of worthy offensive gamers for Vacation to protect.
However, surprisingly, he stated none of these guys have been the hardest to defend. As a substitute, it was Payton Pritchard giving him essentially the most hassle.
“It is perhaps Payton,” Vacation stated on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” this week. “There’s this drill we had the place you must go up towards Payton, full courtroom. Yeah, and he would simply be going loopy. Pace, deal with, low to the bottom so he may physique you, stops on a dime and he can shoot it.”
It wasn’t Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown who gave Jrue Vacation essentially the most hassle throughout apply in Boston 🤯
Jrue had excessive reward for his former Celtics teammate, Payton Pritchard 🤝 pic.twitter.com/jln5C5zU8Z
— Run It Again (@RunItBackFDTV) August 20, 2025
Pritchard was powerful for all opponents final season, posting career-highs in factors (14.3), rebounds (3.8), assists (3.5) and taking pictures share (47.2%). The fifth-year guard was named Sixth Man of the Yr, and he is now in line to potentially start for Boston next season.
Regardless of the injury to Jayson Tatum and the departures of Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and likely Al Horford, Pritchard is getting into 2025-26 with related expectations to the previous couple of years.
He advised Chris Forsberg on the Celtics Discuss Podcast earlier this month that “everyone in that locker room can have the purpose of competing for a championship.”
Vacation is now with the Portland Path Blazers after a commerce that despatched Anfernee Simons to Boston. Pritchard will presumably be competing with the previous Blazer for a beginning guard function alongside White.
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