Pritchard claims he is “the best overall athlete” on the Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics’ new approach to training camp warmups gave the players a chance to show off their athleticism.
Walking football, handball, soccer, and fast-walking baton passing are among the warm-up activities the Celtics used to break up the monotony of practices.
“Our strength and conditioning staff do a great job of finding unique ways to make sure guys are loose, make sure they’re ready for practice,” coach Joe Mazzulla said Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.
List of warm-up activities the Celtics have done so far in training camp:
🏈 Walking football
⚾️ Wiffle ball
🏃 Fast walking stick pass
🖐️ HandballPayton Pritchard: “We just kind of treated it almost like kids… It’s more competitive. Gets the juices flowing.”
Joe Mazzulla:… pic.twitter.com/fnn4m2m4Wl
– Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) 2 October 2024
C’s guard Payton Pritchard enjoyed turning warmups into a competition with his teammates.
“I like the warm-ups a lot more instead of just the general stretches,” he said Wednesday. “That gets boring, so we kind of treated it almost like kids. We played handball, we played football, wiffleball, and the walk. So they’re more fun. It’s more competitive. It gets the juices going.”
When our Chris Forsberg asked Pritchard to name the team’s best handball player, the 26-year-old didn’t hesitate to give a bold answer.
“I was, sure,” he replied. “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 was a Celtic 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’ve got some good ones but I think across 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 Celtic 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 against the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi on October 4th and 6th.
