| Boston Celtics | |
|---|---|
| Position | President of Basketball Operations |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 22, 1976 Zionsville, Indiana |
| Nationality |  American
|
| Coaching career | |
| Best record | 55–27 (2017–18) |
| Titles | 0 |
| Coaching career | 2001–2021 (22 years) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Zionsville Community (Zionsville, Indiana) |
| College | DePauw (1995–1999) |
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
|
As coach: | |
| 2001–2007 | Butler (assistant) |
| 2007–2013 | Butler |
| 2013–2021 | Boston Celtics |
|
As executive: | |
| 2021–present | Boston Celtics (President of Basketball Operations) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Bradley Kent Stevens (born October 22, 1976) is an American basketball executive and former professional coach. Stevens is the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics.
Born and raised in Zionsville, Indiana, Stevens starred on the Zionsville Community High School basketball team, setting four school records. After high school, he attended DePauw University, where he played basketball and earned a degree in economics. He made the all-conference team multiple times and was a three-time Academic All-America nominee. He transitioned into coaching after quitting his job at Eli Lilly and Company, joining the basketball program at Butler University as a volunteer prior to the 2000–01 season. He was promoted to a full-time assistant coach the following season. After five seasons in the role, he assumed the position of head coach on April 4, 2007, after Todd Lickliter left to coach the Iowa Hawkeyes. In his first year, Stevens led Butler to 30 wins, becoming the third-youngest head coach in NCAA Division I history to have a 30-win season.
In 2010, his third year as head coach, Stevens broke the NCAA record for most wins in a coach's first three years, exceeding the previous record by eight wins. In the NCAA Tournament, Stevens coached Butler to the first Final Four in school history, while also becoming the second-youngest head coach to make an NCAA National Championship game, losing 61–59 to Duke. With the following season's team also making the Final Four, Stevens became the youngest coach to go to two Final Fours. 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. Stevens was regularly named a finalist for Horizon League Coach of the Year award, winning twice, and was also a nominee for both the Hugh Durham Award and Jim Phelan Award in every year of his college career.
This success garnered him a job with the NBA's Boston Celtics in 2013, when he signed a six-year, $22-million-dollar contract to become head coach. After undertaking a rebuild early in his career, Stevens led the Celtics to the NBA playoffs every year from 2014 to 2021, won a division championship, and appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017, 2018, and 2020. He 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. Stevens was named the president of basketball operations of the Celtics in 2021 following the retirement of Danny Ainge.