Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard signed a shoe deal with Converse. He’s worn a variety of shoes during his career, but lately he’s been wearing Sabrina Ionescu’s shoes or teammate Jaylen Brown’s 741’s.

Pritchard has mixed in a few pairs of Converse this season, but the shoe deal was a surprise at this time of year while the season is still going on and just ahead of the playoffs.

This has been a career-year for Pritchard as the best player off the bench this season. He leads the league in points, field goals made, 3-pointers made, plus-minus, and is at the top in assists and steals.

Pritchard is the frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year. The shoe deal is a confirmation that his work is being noticed outside of just the NBA world.

Converse adds Pritchard to their athlete list of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Natasha Cloud of the WNBA. Draymond Green was previously signed with Converse.

Pritchard joins SGA as its top athletes to bring back the historic brand that once signed some of the best in the NBA, including Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Dennis Rodman, and Dwayne Wade.

This is an incredible deal for Pritchard, who has created his own brand of merchandise called The Pritch Collective. He’s being noticed as a marketable player and it’s great to see the ascension of his status on the team and in the league.

Here’s other news, notes, and takeaways from the Celtics:

• Jaylen Brown addressed playing through his knee injury, saying it’s not something that will get better in time for the playoffs by resting. He said the plan is to feel his best for the playoffs, both physically and mentally, as this new type of injury is putting a toll on him. Brown assured the media that the 65-game qualifier for All-NBA is not a factor in his decision to play.
• Rookie Baylor Scheierman has become a part of Boston’s limited rotation. He’s played in all 10 of their last games, scoring 5.3 points on 47 percent shooting from the field and from behind the arc in 15 minutes per game. Scheierman gives it his all on both ends of the court and it’s caught the eye of head coach Joe Mazzulla.
• Kristaps Porzingis took a hard fall against the Suns that resulted in a gash over his nose that produced blood dripping down his face. As the UFC and MMA fan that he is, it seemed like a moment he embraced once he learned he was going to be fine. It did require a few stitches on his nose and he didn’t return to the game.
• In the month of March, Jayson Tatum averaged 27.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.5 blocks, and totaled 307 points while leading the Celtics to a 10-1 record during the month (Boston went 14-1 overall.)
• Jaylen Brown made a one-legged heave as he channeled his inner Payton Pritchard.
• Joe Mazzulla earned Coach of the Month in March, leading his team to a 14-1 record.
• Boston set an NBA record for the most 3-pointers made by a team in a season with 1,324 and there is still five more games to play.

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Photo Credit: Zack Cox, Boston Herald