Payton Pritchard Emerges as NBA Isolation Leader by Efficiency Metrics

Payton Pritchard led the NBA with a 58.6% effective field goal percentage on isolation plays last season, surpassing Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard recorded a 58.6% effective field goal percentage on isolation plays during the 2025-26 season, the highest mark in the NBA. This efficiency rating placed him ahead of Nikola Jokic (57.1%), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (56.4%), and Luka Doncic (55.8%). According to Stat Defender, Pritchard averaged 1.30 points per isolation possession at the midpoint of the season and finished the year with 1.11 points per possession, ranking third in the league behind Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander.

During the first round of the playoffs against Philadelphia, Pritchard scored a career-high 32 points in Game 4, outscoring the Boston starting five's combined 24 points in the first half. He also recorded 86 field goals with four or fewer seconds remaining on the shot clock, which was 12 more than Kevin Durant. His 51.6% effective field goal percentage in these late-clock situations ranked second only to Jalen Brunson among players with at least 100 attempts.

Pritchard ranked third among 57 players who attempted at least 200 shots in the nonrestricted area of the key, shooting 56%. This percentage trailed only Jokic and Durant. Following the departure of Jrue Holiday and an Achilles injury to Jayson Tatum, Pritchard started 50 games last season. Ahead of the 2026-27 season, NBA GMs identified Pritchard as a potential breakout candidate, and television analyst Brian Scalabrine projected the guard could average over 22 points per game.