Brad Stevens built a that earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference last season, then had to part ways with four members of that roster to escape what could have been a massive luxury tax bill.
The result? Boston was 鈥� and remains a legitimate championship hopeful in a season when many likely expected otherwise.
It all earned Stevens the NBA’s Executive of the Year award on Monday, his second time winning that trophy in the past three seasons. He’s the 12th two-time winner and the sixth person to win twice within a three-year span.
鈥淭hese awards are organizational awards, and everyone in this building shares in this recognition,鈥� Stevens said in remarks distributed by the Celtics. 鈥淚 am just thankful to be there in a support role for our players, coaches and staff. They are truly amazing. There鈥檚 nothing I cherish more professionally than getting to be a part of a true TEAM and competing at the highest level, and I am thankful to the Celtics for giving us that opportunity.鈥�
Stevens got 11 first-place votes from a panel of 30 basketball executives 鈥� one from each of the 鈥� who ranked their top three choices in order. Stevens appeared on 17 of those 30 ballots, as did Atlanta’s Onsi Saleh, who finished second. Detroit’s Trajan Langdon, who has overseen a massive turnaround with the Pistons, was third for the second consecutive season.
Sam Presti of Oklahoma City, last year鈥檚 winner, was fifth. San Antonio鈥檚 Brian Wright was sixth, Houston鈥檚 Rafael Stone seventh, Phoenix鈥檚 Brian Gregory eighth, while Cleveland鈥檚 Koby Altman and Denver鈥檚 Josh Kroenke tied for ninth. Memphis鈥� Zach Kleiman and the Los Angeles Lakers鈥� Rob Pelinka tied for 11th.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Stevens has been accessible to him since he became one of his assistant coaches in 2019 and it has continued since Mazzulla became coach prior to the 2022-23 season.
鈥淚 think communication and kind of how we see the game,” Mazzulla said. “We鈥檙e in meetings every day talking to each other. Whether it was an argument, whether it was something we agreed on, conversation going back and forth talking to him about things. I think just being around each other every day, how we communicate 鈥�- how we can get through wins and losses, playoff series. You just develop, obviously, an understanding with each other that allow you to pull from each other鈥檚 experiences.鈥�
The Executive of the Year award is not like most NBA season honors that are voted on by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league and cast ballots shortly after the end of the regular season.
This was the seventh award to be announced by the NBA since the end of the regular season. The others:
鈥� San Antonio鈥檚 Victor Wembanyama was the unanimous
鈥� Oklahoma City鈥檚 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got 96 of a possible 100 first-place votes to win the award.
鈥� San Antonio鈥檚 Keldon Johnson won
鈥� Boston鈥檚 Derrick White won the . That award, unlike most others, is selected solely by active NBA players.
鈥� Atlanta鈥檚 Nickeil Alexander-Walker won
鈥� Dallas’ Cooper Flagg is the
Other award announcements yet to be scheduled include Most Valuable Player (either Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver鈥檚 Nikola Jokic) and Coach of the Year (either Detroit鈥檚 J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio鈥檚 Mitch Johnson or Boston鈥檚 Mazzulla).
The NBA will announce the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year and the Hustle Award winner later this week.
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AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower, in Boston, contributed.
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