Payton Pritchard speaks on Celtics' disappointing playoff series loss

The Boston Celtics and former Oregon Duck Payton Pritchard's 2025-26 season came to a stunning end on Saturday night, as the Celtics were defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their first round series.

Boston was the heavy favorite coming in, as they'd won 56 games and claimed the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the 76ers won their way into the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament before coming back from down 3-1 to upset the Celtics and advance to the second round. With a nucleus that included Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum (though he missed Game 7 with knee soreness), Derrick White and Pritchard, the Celtics were considered one of the favorites to come out of the East and compete for an NBA championship.

But after losing three straight to Philadelphia, Boston's season ended prematurely.

It was a banner year for Pritchard, who posted career-highs in points (17.0), assists (5.2), rebounds (3.9) and minutes (32.4) per game, becoming a key piece both as a starter and off the bench once Tatum returned from injury late in the regular season.

While speaking to the media on Saturday, the former Duck broke down the balance of processing a successful regular season with a disappointing first-round exit.

"I thought a lot of people had a lot of growth this year," Pritchard said. "So, that's a positive. Just because you don't win a championship one year doesn't mean it didn't build for the next championship. So, when we won Banner 18, four years before that, we lost four straight — lost to , lost in the finals. So those might have been disappointing years, but maybe those led to the championship. So, that's how I look at it."