Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Out of 29 votes for NBA Coach of the Year, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens received zero votes from his coaching peers. But after beating the Bucks in 7, dismantling The Process in 5, and currently being up 2-0 against the greatest player on the planet–all of which, mind you, without the Celtics two superstars–the 41-year-old is proving against all doubt that he is elite.
Now, with his team just two wins from reaching the NBA Finals, Stevens is being dubbed a “genius” from players and talking heads around the league. Stevens has visited the Patriots practice facility on several occasions to learn from how a winning organization structures itself. His praise for Belichick is unbounded.
He is the head coach of the @celtics, but he's learned a lot from the other team in town…@cfrelund sat down with Brad Stevens to discuss what he's taken away from watching @Patriots head coach Bill Belichick ⬇️ https://t.co/0lYJCc0G6k
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 16, 2018
Stevens said:
“To get a chance to spend time over there — it’s been really helpful. I think when you walk out of there — and I’ve said this before — you feel inadequate as a coach. Because, you’re like their culture, the way they move from drill to drill, how they pull together and how connected they are, it’s special and it does not happen everywhere. The one thing the Patriots have always been great about is they don’t beat themselves. And they pride themselves on that.
…the idea of doing your job or the idea of everyone has a role to play and being a superstar in your rule, those are all things that coaches talk about all the time. They just do it better than everyone else, and that’s the bottom line…It’s a fabric of who they are, and not just something that’s on their wall.”
[h/t For the Win]