Payton Pritchard was happy to be recognized as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. Undersized and often overlooked, the Celtics guard viewed the honor as validation of his years of hard work.

But he didn’t spend much time celebrating it.

After the award was announced Tuesday evening, Pritchard cracked a smile, high-fived Boston assistant coach Craig Luscenat, hugged a few family members and sat down for a quick video interview with the “NBA on TNT” crew. Then, he focused back on the task at hand.

“We were talking about it last night,” Pritchard said before the Celtics hosted the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. “It’s definitely, you’re thankful, and it’s an exciting moment. … It’s kind of like, I’m glad to get (the award), but my mind has quickly shifted to, the main goal is to win a ring. It’s great to have this award, but to cap off the season, I’d much rather have a ring with it than an individual award. So the most important thing is to get this for the team and the city.”

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After seeing his playing time fluctuate over his first three years in the NBA — including a 2022-23 campaign so frustrating that prompted him to request a trade — Pritchard carved out a permanent role in head coach Joe Mazzulla’s rotation last season. He played in every regular-season and playoff game for a Celtics team that won the NBA championship, setting career highs in nearly every statistical category and draining an instantly legendary halfcourt buzzer-beater in the NBA Finals clincher.

The 27-year-old then improved in every metric this season, emerging as the league’s most productive bench player (first in points and plus/minus among reserves, third in assists, tied for sixth in steals) and an elite 3-point threat. Mazzulla regularly praised his defense and three-level scoring ability, as well.

“It’s easy for guys to slip through the cracks, dealing with uncertainty in their first few years in the league,” Mazzulla said. “But he dealt with it with a high level of professionalism and competitive nature, and it’s part of what makes him really good. So I’m happy for him, and I’m grateful that we have him.”

Mike Zarren, the Celtics’ longtime vice president of basketball operations, wrote in a post on X that “literally no one has been a harder worker” than Pritchard in Zarren’s two decades with the franchise.

“No one,” Zarren wrote. “Yes, I’m well aware of all the legends we had during this time! Super well deserved … but ZERO chance he relaxes even a moment after this.”

How would Pritchard — who became the Celtics’ fourth Sixth Man of the Year winner, joining Kevin McHale, Bill Walton and Malcolm Brogdon — describe that renowned work ethic?

“It’s just having this dying passion for something I love that I pour everything into it every day,” he said. “It’s just a commitment I’ve had at a young age and a belief in myself that I could do things that a lot of people said — and a majority of everybody said — I would never be able to do. That’s really it.”