Blake Griffin and Payton Pritchard met at a Los Angeles Clippers game when Pritchard was just 16 years old before they knew they’d end up teammates on the Boston Celtics.

Former Celtics coach Ime Udoka reflected on Payton Pritchard's lack of playing time, and how far the Celtics guard has come.

Udoka, now coaching the Rockets, saw Pritchard step into an important role as the Celtics marched to the 2022 NBA Finals before losing to the Warriors.

Still, Pritchard saw his minutes sink to 13.1 per game in his third season -- when Mazzulla took over for Udoka, who was suspended for violating team policies -- and he played in just 48 regular-season games after averaging 68 the two seasons before.