Celtics

Payton Pritchard believes 2025-26 Celtics will still be a ‘playoff team’

"It's not even about playoffs, we have one standard in Boston and it's to win a championship."

Payton Pritchard believes the Celtics will be a playoff team in 2025-26. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe

August 5, 2025

2 minutes to read

Expectations aren’t exactly high for the 2025-26 Celtics.

Just a year removed from being viewed as title favorites, the Celtics are staring at a bridge season due to critical injuries and roster turnover brought about by cap-related complications.

Looming luxury tax penalties forced Brad Stevens to trade away lineup stalwarts like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, while Boston’s limited cap space also made it untenable for the team to re-sign players like Luke Kornet and Al Horford in free agency.

Those departures are likely to hamper a talented roster. But, the most devastating blow to Boston’s contention window came during the Eastern Conference Semifinals in May, with superstar forward Jayson Tatum suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Tatum could miss the entire 2025-26 season as a result, further hindering a Celtics roster with little depth in its frontcourt.

Even with lineup regulars like Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard expected to return next season, NBA.com writer John Schuhmann projected the Celtics to finish 12th in the Eastern Conference this season— ahead of only the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets.

Count Pritchard among those on Boston’s roster who is brushing aside talk that the Celtics are destined to plummet down the standings this season.

“We’re definitely trying to be a playoff team. We’re trying to win a championship,” Pritchard told NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg on the Celtics Talk Podcast. “It’s not even about playoffs, we have one standard in Boston and it’s to win a championship. Everybody in that locker room will have the goal of competing for a championship. And we will do everything in our power necessary to go for that. That’s what (the fans) should know.”

Even with Boston’s frontcourt depth decimated and the team’s top scoring conduit in Tatum sidelined, the Celtics might have enough talent still in place on the roster to hover around the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.

Still, Pritchard acknowledged that it has been a painful summer for Boston — especially when it comes to the team needing to trade away players who helped the franchise win its 18th championship in June 2024.

“I mean, it definitely sucks,” Pritchard said about the offseason changes. “You become brothers with your teammates, you’re with them all the time. So, definitely going to miss them. It’s part of the business side so you have to move on.”

Boston may not be one of the favorites for a title in 2025-26. But, Tatum’s injury and Boston’s offseason departures appear to open up more opportunities for other regulars on the Celtics’ roster.

Be it Brown’s ascension as the team’s go-to scorer or more minutes allocated to the reigning Sixth Man of the Year in Pritchard, there should be plenty of avenues for other Celtics players to thrive this fall.

“I feel like everybody should be excited,” Pritchard said. “There’s a lot of opportunities across the board. For me, personally, I’m excited every year. Because it’s an opportunity to prove myself again, to show that I can take another step. And that’s my goal every year. I’m definitely hungry and motivated this year, been working really hard. So I’m excited.”