It took Brad Stevens fewer than three years to become the best executive in basketball.
The Boston Celtics president of basketball operations has been named the 2023-24 NBA Executive of the Year, the league announced Tuesday. Stevens was the runaway winner for the award, receiving more than double the votes of the next-closest executive, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti.
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Stevens was a slam-dunk choice for Executive of the Year. He made several bold moves last offseason -- notably acquiring Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via trade while shipping out Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Malcolm Brogdon -- that paid major dividends, helping the Celtics roll to their fourth-best season in franchise history (64-18) and the NBA's No. 1 overall seed entering the playoffs.
Stevens made a surprising transition from head coach to executive in June 2021 and since then has helped transform the C's into a perennial playoff contender. His acquisitions of Al Horford and Derrick White have been tremendous successes, and he's also handed out contract extensions to several core players -- Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Payton Pritchard, with Jayson Tatum and White deals potentially coming this summer -- to keep Boston's talented roster intact.
Simply put, Stevens has set the Celtics up tremendously to end the team's 16-year championship drought. Now, it's on the roster to deliver.
Boston currently owns a 3-1 first-round series lead over the Miami Heat, with Game 5 set for Wednesday at TD Garden. NBC Sports Boston's coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live, with Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine on the call at 7:30 p.m. ET.
