If one Celtics player is going to walk away with individual hardware this season, the safest bet is Payton Pritchard.
Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla are long shots to repeat as Executive of the Year and Coach of the Year, and Derrick White’s chances at another All-Defensive Team nod don’t really belong in this conversation. The real Celtics award watch starts with Pritchard, especially if Boston keeps him in the role that made him a Sixth Man of the Year winner in the first place.
There is one big caveat. If Pritchard opens the season as a regular in the starting lineup, then his case for a second Sixth Man of the Year trophy disappears.
But if he stays anchored to the second unit, he suddenly looks like the favorite. He’s talented enough to do damage in that role, and even without starting, he could still finish as Boston’s second-leading scorer.
The Celtics even highlighted his form with a post that read, “OUT OF HIS MIND 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CZTxh6LoLY”
Pritchard wouldn’t have a clean path to the award, though. Dylan Harper would be one of his biggest challengers, even if he’s also the type of player who looks too good for a bench role.
The San Antonio Spurs may have to choose between paying De’Aaron Fox $49.5 million while using him in the second unit or sliding Harper into that sixth-man spot. Fox’s contract and the fact that he was playing well before his ankle injury make it believable that Harper may not start.
Another name in the mix is Ajay Mitchell. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard is coming off a breakout year, one that saw him average 13.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals. He finished in the top five in the voting for this honor in 2025-26, and his scoring ability is exactly the kind of thing that grabs voters’ attention.
Pritchard also has to contend with his former teammate Anfernee Simons, now with the Philadelphia 76ers. Simons can slot in next to Tyrese Maxey or VJ Edgecombe and give Philadelphia the shooting it needs off the bench.
Ayo Dosunmu is another player worth watching. After joining the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Chicago Bulls, he put up 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 steals. The addition of LaMelo Ball points toward Dosunmu being Minnesota’s sixth man, which makes him a strong contender too.
As for Jayson Tatum, the idea of an MVP run is harder to sell. Boston’s roster is built around him, which only helps the Celtics’ outlook, but the MVP field is loaded.
Tatum would have to get past Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Anthony Edwards, while also dealing with the possibility that voter fatigue slows down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s push for a third straight MVP and makes Nikola Jokic’s bid for a fourth more difficult. Giannis Antetokounmpo is also a threat if he puts together an MVP-level season in his first year with the Miami Heat.
If Tatum can carry Boston past those teams and into a top seed, his case gets stronger. But with so many heavy hitters in the race, he is not the pick here.
That leaves Pritchard as the Celtics player most likely to bring home an award, and only if Boston leaves him exactly where he belongs: leading the second unit.
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So the immediate question for Joe Mazzulla is not whether Robinson matters, but how much the Celtics should ask of him night to night. The idea is to keep him in a role that preserves his legs and keeps his impact high, even if that means bringing him off the bench and trimming his minutes in the interest of the playoffs. It is the kind of usage plan that worked elsewhere, and it leaves Boston with a clear balancing act: maximize Robinsons value now without wearing him down later. [Read more 🡒]