Pritchard's 58.6% Iso Rate Tops NBA Leaders

Payton Pritchard finished the previous season with a 58.6% effective field goal percentage on isolation plays, the highest rate in the National Basketball Association. That figure surpassed Nikola Jokic, who shot 57.1%, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 56.4%, and Luka Doncic at 55.8%. While Pritchard’s per-possession output dipped in the second half, his final mark of 1.11 points per possession remained third in the league behind Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander.

The efficiency stems from a specific training regimen that Pritchard has maintained for years. He conducts one-on-one sessions in unheated high school gyms, recruiting Division II and III players, international athletes, and local friends to defend him. These workouts occur three times a week for roughly two hours each. Pritchard completes approximately 150 possessions per session, cycling through every position on the court to test his ability to create separation against a single defender.

The physical conditions are intentionally harsh. In June, Pritchard trains at a facility on Cape Cod where the air is thick and humid. He has previously worked out in a gym in West Linn, Oregon, where indoor temperatures reached 120 degrees during a heat wave. Pritchard prefers these environments because they force defenders to play aggressive, relentless defense without the aid of air conditioning. He pays for the travel costs of his opponents, ensuring they are motivated to compete at a high level.

Celtics assistant general manager Dave Lewin compared Pritchard’s dedication to Kyrie Irving’s late-night one-on-one sessions in Cleveland. Lewin noted that while the two players are different, Pritchard is one of the most active practitioners of this specific skill development method in the league. Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell described Pritchard as 6-foot-1 soaking wet, a phrase that captures the guard’s physical profile and his refusal to rely on size.

Pritchard’s focus on one-on-one mastery began in high school. He trained against former NBA player Steve Blake during the summer before his sophomore year, losing repeatedly. Pritchard also developed his ballhandling with weighted balls that wore his hands raw. He used class periods for hip mobility work and lunch breaks for plyometric drills on the school track. This early discipline created a mental framework where he views each isolation possession as a data point in a larger experiment.

The results are visible in Boston’s current lineup. After Jaylen Brown departed for Philadelphia and Jayson Tatum suffered an Achilles tear, Pritchard assumed a larger role. He started 50 games last season and finished with a game and playoff career-high 32 points in Game 4 of the first round. His ability to score against elite defenders, including Joel Embiid, has become a cornerstone of the Celtics’ offensive strategy.

The team will rely on this skill set as they navigate a competitive Eastern Conference. Pritchard’s offseason preparation continues in the humid gyms of the Cape, where he refines the mechanics that allowed him to lead the league in isolation efficiency last year.