Payton Pritchard has established himself as one of the best role players in the NBA.

After helping the Boston Celtics win the 2024 NBA Championship, he is currently in the middle of his best season as a pro.

Right now, the former Oregon star is averaging 16.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 48.8% from the field and 43.2% from the three-point range in 25 games.

Pritchard was the 26th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Most of the league passed on him, and the Denver Nuggets could have selected the 26-year-old point guard with the 22nd pick.

Instead, they drafted Zeke Nnaji.

He is averaging 1.3 points per contest in 16 games this season.

At just 23, Nnaji still has time to develop into a rotational NBA player.

That said, it’s clear that the Nuggets would have been better off selecting Pritchard.

The Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Championship, so every move they made up until that point was worth it.

That said, over the previous two summers they have lost key players such as Bruce Brown Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell Pope.

Over the offseason, the Nuggets had to sign Russell Westbrook to bring off the bench (as Jamal Murray’s backup).

It’s fair to assume that Pritchard would have already been in that role if they had selected him.

Via Celtics Stats on December 12: “Payton Pritchard made his 500th career 3-pointer tonight, becoming the 10th Celtic to reach that mark.”