(Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics cruised to a 64-18 record this season and are positioned to steamroll the Eastern Conference en route to the NBA Finals, currently sitting with a 3-1 lead over the Miami Heat in the first round.
Much of that is due to the incredible work of team president and former head coach Brad Stevens, who just won a huge award for his accomplishments.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Stevens has won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award, with Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder coming in a distant second place, and Tim Connelly of the Minnesota Timberwolves coming in third.
Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens has won the NBA Executive of the Year award.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 30, 2024
Stevens made some bold moves this past offseason after the Celtics fell short last season and lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Heat after going down 3-0 in the series.
He made the difficult decision to trade fan favorite and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, while also trading for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday without giving up much.
Both Porzingis and Holiday have fit in seamlessly and are big reasons why this team ran away with the East.
Porzingis came over as part of the 3-team deal that sent Smart to the Grizzlies, and Boston even acquired two first-round picks in the deal as well while sending Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala to the Washington Wizards along with a second-round pick.
Holiday was acquired for Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, and two first-round picks.
Those trades couldn’t have worked out better, and they are big reasons why Stevens is taking home some hardware.
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