Bradley Kent Stevens was born on October 22,1976 and is an American basketball executive and former coach who is currently the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics.
82 Facts About Brad Stevens
2.
Brad Stevens made the all-conference team multiple times and was a three-time Academic All-America nominee.
3.
Brad Stevens was promoted to a full-time assistant coach the following season.
4.
In 2010, his third year as head coach, Brad Stevens broke the NCAA record for most wins in a coach's first three years, exceeding the previous record by eight wins.
5.
Brad Stevens coached the Bulldogs in their second consecutive national championship game on April 4,2011, where the team again lost, this time to the Connecticut Huskies.
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Brad Stevens was regularly named a finalist for Horizon League Coach of the Year award, winning twice, and was a nominee for both the Hugh Durham Award and Jim Phelan Award in every year of his college career.
7.
Brad Stevens gained a reputation as one of the NBA's best coaches, with his motion offense and stingy defense earning plaudits from fans, peers, and players.
8.
Brad Stevens was named the president of basketball operations of the Celtics in 2021 following the retirement of Danny Ainge.
9.
Brad Stevens grew up in Zionsville, Indiana, where he developed his love for basketball.
10.
Besides playing basketball, the young Brad Stevens enjoyed solving puzzles, a skill he later applied to analyzing opposing teams to find their weaknesses.
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Brad Stevens attended Zionsville Community High School, where he became a star basketball player.
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Brad Stevens wore No 31 in high school in honor of Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller.
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The hard work paid off as Brad Stevens made the varsity team that year.
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In 1995, Brad Stevens was the sectional MVP and the leading scorer in state sectional play.
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Brad Stevens made the academic all-state first team and received the Straight A Gold Medal Award all four years.
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Brad Stevens was a member of the National Honor Society, graduating seventh in his class of 165.
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Brad Stevens earned three letters in basketball, three in track, and one in baseball during his days at Zionsville.
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Brad Stevens was recruited to play Division III basketball at NCAC powerhouse DePauw University, where he played in all 101 DePauw games, earning four varsity letters.
19.
Brad Stevens earned multiple all-conference and academic all-conference awards, and was a three-time Academic All-America nominee.
20.
Brad Stevens was a team captain his senior year, and averaged more than eight points per game three of his four years.
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At DePauw, Brad Stevens was a member of the Management Fellows Honors Program and the DePauw Community Services' Sports Night executive board.
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Brad Stevens was a brother of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
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Brad Stevens was named to the Dean's list and graduated in 1999 with a degree in economics.
24.
Brad Stevens ran the idea of quitting his job at Eli Lilly by then-longtime girlfriend Tracy Wilhelmy.
25.
Brad Stevens thought about it for two hours before telling him to go for it.
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Brad Stevens planned to live in a friend's basement and took a job at Applebee's to pay the bills.
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Brad Stevens had a great passion and was willing to take a risk to get into the coaching profession.
28.
Under Lickliter, Brad Stevens was active in every aspect of the game: skills instruction, game preparation, in-game coaching, and recruiting.
29.
Brad Stevens was a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award, losing to Keno Davis of Drake, and a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award, losing to Bo Ryan.
30.
In so doing, Brad Stevens became the sixth head coach in NCAA history to reach 50 wins in 56 games or fewer.
31.
Brad Stevens was a finalist for both the Hugh Durham and Jim Phelan Awards for the second straight year and was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year.
32.
Brad Stevens was named as a finalist for the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award.
33.
Brad Stevens was given a one-year contract extension at the conclusion of the season.
34.
Brad Stevens rallied the team, and they proceeded to win 16 straight games before facing Siena in a BracketBusters game.
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Brad Stevens became the first coach to lead a Horizon League team to both an undefeated regular season and conference tournament since the league was formed in 1979.
36.
Brad Stevens made a number of halftime adjustments, and the Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders in the second half.
37.
Brad Stevens called timeout and Butler regained the lead on its next possession, stopping the run.
38.
Two days later, Brad Stevens' Bulldogs met second-seeded Kansas State in the regional finals.
39.
Brad Stevens kept the team focused with a "next man up" attitude and the game was tied at 28 at halftime.
40.
Brad Stevens correctly anticipated the play call and had Ronald Nored, the team's best defender, switch onto Korie Lucious off a screen.
41.
Butler was unable to initiate their offense and Brad Stevens called a timeout to set up a play.
42.
Brad Stevens was quickly fouled with less than four seconds remaining.
43.
Brad Stevens became the second-youngest head coach to coach in the NCAA National Championship Game, behind Branch McCracken who led the Indiana Hoosiers to the 1940 National Championship at age 31.
44.
Brad Stevens was named as both a Hugh Durham and Jim Phelan Award finalist for the third consecutive year, losing to Mike Young and Jamie Dixon respectively.
45.
Brad Stevens was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which was won by Bob Marlin.
46.
Brad Stevens received fan letters from around the world, and his phone rang off the hook.
47.
Brad Stevens had previously made US$395,000 plus benefits in base salary, a relatively low figure for a successful Division I head basketball coach.
48.
Brad Stevens had received a raise after each of his three seasons at Butler and his contract contains a buyout clause estimated in the high six or low seven figures.
49.
Rumors circulated that Brad Stevens was in contract negotiations with UCLA, but ultimately the rumors proved false and Brad Stevens stayed at Butler.
50.
On July 3,2013, Brad Stevens was signed as the head coach for the Boston Celtics to coach in the NBA.
51.
Brad Stevens was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2015.
52.
On February 28,2016, Brad Stevens was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for February.
53.
On February 3,2017, Brad Stevens was named the Eastern Conference head coach for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
54.
On July 4,2017, Brad Stevens was reunited with his former college player Gordon Hayward when Hayward signed a contract to play for the Celtics.
55.
Brad Stevens was considered a front runner for the NBA Coach of the Year Award, but lost to Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors.
56.
On June 18, Brad Stevens made his first transaction in his new position trading away Kemba Walker, the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA draft, and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Al Horford, Moses Brown, and a 2023 second-round pick.
57.
On June 23,2021, it was reported that Brad Stevens had made the decision to hire Ime Udoka as his own replacement as head coach of the Boston Celtics.
58.
Brad Stevens' made his second transaction replacing Udoka with Joe Mazzulla on February 16th, 2023 after Udoka was suspended for a year following the incident in the offseason.
59.
Brad Stevens decided that a team's play will reflect its coach's mood; a calm coach means a team that will remain poised in difficult game situations, while a nervous coach means a team that plays on edge.
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Accordingly, Brad Stevens developed a strategy of always remaining calm and focused during games.
61.
Brad Stevens rarely raises his voice or gets emotional, instead quietly observing on the sideline with folded arms.
62.
Above all, Brad Stevens wants his players to be confident, not living in fear of being yanked for making a bad play.
63.
Externally, Brad Stevens is always calm, but internally he is far from it.
64.
Brad Stevens spends a lot of time preparing for each game, and always tries to add a few new wrinkles specific to that game's opponent.
65.
Brad Stevens is a proponent of statistical analysis to enhance his coaching decisions, spending almost as much time looking at statistics as watching game film.
66.
In 2012, Brad Stevens became the first college coach to hire someone solely for statistical research when he added Drew Cannon to the staff.
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Brad Stevens' teams are built around solid basketball fundamentals and good teamwork rather than individual basketball skill.
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Brad Stevens's teams are known for their defense, forcing opponents into uncharacteristic mistakes.
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Brad Stevens has often been referred to as a coaching prodigy, but is not interested in self-promotion.
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Brad Stevens instead prefers to deflect the praise he receives to the players, athletic department, and his mentors.
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Brad Stevens has not been known to posture for more money, or to leak his name for open coaching positions.
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Brad Stevens has been described as humble, modest, and not "about the money".
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Brad Stevens implemented wellness programs and invited Dr Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, founding director of McLean Hospital's College Mental Health Program, to speak to his players.
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Brad Stevens is known for projecting a professional, "corporate" look from the sidelines.
75.
Brad Stevens returned to school in 2000, driving five hours from Case Western's law school to Indianapolis on weekends to see Stevens.
76.
Brad Stevens finished her final year of law school in Indianapolis, and the couple married in August 2003.
77.
Brad Stevens says that the cause really hit home for them after Tracy's mother died of the disease in June 2004.
78.
Brad Stevens has volunteered his time to the Jukes Foundation for Kids, a charity benefiting Ugandan children run by former Butler player Avery Jukes.
79.
Brad Stevens remains in close contact with the Butler basketball family; he notably took a one-game leave from the Celtics in January 2016 to visit with Andrew Smith, a player on both of Butler's Final Four teams who was dying of cancer; Smith died less than a week later.
80.
At the request of Andrew's widow, Sam, Brad Stevens delivered the eulogy at the memorial service on January 17,2016.
81.
Brad Stevens' father, Mark, is an orthopedic surgeon in Indianapolis who played college football for Indiana.
82.
Brad Stevens's mother, Jan, is a university professor who has previously taught at Butler.