Payton Pritchard’s wife captures touching moment NBA champion sneaks off during dog walk to surprise young fan
Payton Pritchard proved his quality on and off the NBA court when his wife, Emma MacDonald, captured the Celtics star surprising a young fan, posting the moment to her Instagram Story.
The couple went for a leisurely walk with their dogs when the 26-year-old spotted a young boy shooting hoops by himself and decided to give the fan a moment of remembrance.
Unable to resist a shooting, Pritchard ended up in a one-on-one fight with the fan. In the video Emma posted, Payton can be seen backing up the young player before pulling up and doing a bumpy jump.
“We went to the park with our dog and I turn around to find him here,” Emma wrote on the clip.
Pritchard teases the fan, repeatedly saying “Watch your hand, man,” as his defender smiles as he reaches for the ball.
Payton Pritchard’s wife posted a video of him playing one-on-one with a young Celtics fan
The young fan then exclaimed, “Oh my,” as he watched Pritchard’s shot hit the net after bouncing off the rim and the backboard four times.
Pritchard was drafted by the Celtics with the 26th pick out of Oregon in 2020 and became an effective role player for the team.
After averaging 9.6 points in 22.3 minutes per game last season, Pritchard was dynamite off the bench for the Celtics in the playoffs. During their postseason run, Pritchard scored a total of 122 points, making 41.9 percent of his field goals and 38.3 percent from three-point range.
The Celtics would defeat Miami and Cleveland in back-to-back gentlemen’s sweeps before defeating the Pacers in the Conference Finals. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games to secure the franchise’s 18th banner.
So far this season, Pritchard has averaged 12.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2 assists as the Celtics look to repeat in June.
Boston is 3-0 to start the season with wins over the Knicks, Wizards and Pistons. They look to remain undefeated when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, October 28.