Brad Stevens

At 47 years old, Brad Stevens has this physical status:

In the summer of 2000, Stevens was offered the opportunity to volunteer in the Butler basketball office. He ran the idea of quitting his job at Eli Lilly by then-longtime girlfriend (and now wife) Tracy Wilhelmy. She thought about it for two hours before telling him to go for it. "Now, it looks like a great idea," Stevens later remarked. "At the time, I thought it was something I really wanted to try." Tracy began law school to get a J.D. degree that could support the couple if things did not work out for Stevens. "We were 23 and realized this was our chance," Tracy later said. "Five years down the road, we were probably not going to be in a position to do that. The more success you had at Lilly, the harder it would be to leave."

Stevens planned to live in a friend's basement and took a job at Applebee's to pay the bills. Before he started training at Applebee's, Stevens was offered a low-paying administrative position as coordinator of basketball operations under then-coach Thad Matta. The position had opened up when assistant coach Jamal Meeks resigned after being arrested on solicitation and drug charges, of which he was later acquitted. Years later, Matta recalled, "[Stevens] was just a hungry young kid that was desperate to get into coaching. He had a great passion and was willing to take a risk to get into the coaching profession."

After Matta left the school following the 2000–01 season, new head coach Todd Lickliter promoted Stevens to a full-time assistant coach. Under Lickliter, Stevens was active in every aspect of the game: skills instruction, game preparation, in-game coaching, and recruiting. Butler was 131–61 during Stevens' time as an assistant coach.

On April 2, 2007, Lickliter resigned in order to take the head-coaching position at the University of Iowa. The Butler players had a meeting with athletic director Barry Collier, urging him to promote from within. Collier, having spent the entire season observing the assistant coaches' interaction with the team, agreed. The day after Lickliter resigned Stevens and Butler's two other assistant coaches interviewed for the job. Within 24 hours of the interviews the 30-year-old Stevens was named Butler's new head coach. According to Collier, Stevens had something older, outside candidates could never match: six years of experience learning the Butler system, dubbed "The Butler Way" by Collier. "Age wasn't a factor because I'd seen his ability shine through during the course of the season," Collier said.

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Stevens was the second youngest coach in Division I basketball. He got off to a fast start, winning his first eight games before falling to Wright State 43–42. Legendary coach Bob Knight, whose Texas Tech team was an early victim, said "I wish we played as smart as they do." Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg added "they've got toughness about them and they expect to win."

Midway through Stevens' first season, with the Bulldogs at 12–1, The New York Times wrote "so far, Stevens has made the transition [to head coach] look easy." The Times went on to state that Stevens had the calm and composure of a seasoned veteran. "You've got a lot of people always looking for the next step. And that's not what I was doing. I was just trying to figure out a way to win the next game and think like a head coach." Stevens said.

Butler ended the regular season with a 27–3 record, taking first place in the Horizon League with a 16–2 in conference mark. The team beat Illinois-Chicago 66–50 and Cleveland State 70–55 to claim the league's tournament title and an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA tournament. Butler was awarded the seven seed in the East Regional. They beat tenth-seeded South Alabama 81–61 in the first round, before falling to second-seeded Tennessee 76–71 in overtime.

Stevens ended up with a school and Horizon league record 30 wins, beating several big name schools – Michigan, Texas Tech, Florida State, Ohio State – along the way. In so doing, he became the third-youngest head coach in NCAA Division I history to lead a team to 30 wins in a season, and became the fourth-winningest first-year coach. Butler was nationally ranked for a school and league record 19 consecutive weeks. Butler's 30–4 record was the best among teams that did not reach the Final Four. 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.

At the conclusion of the season, Butler signed Stevens to a seven-year contract. "We are extremely excited to reach this long-term agreement to have Brad continue to lead our program," Collier remarked.

Butler lost four starters after the 2007–08 season, and was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon league during the 2008–09 season. The team got off to a 12–1 start that won Stevens the Hugh Durham mid-season coaching award. On February 5, Stevens notched his 50th win as Butler beat Detroit 66–61. In so doing, Stevens became the sixth head coach in NCAA history to reach 50 wins in 56 games or fewer. Butler finished first in the Horizon League with a 15–3 in conference record, defying preseason expectations. Butler lost the Horizon League tournament final 57–54 to Cleveland State, but made the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection. The team received the nine seed in the South Regional, and lost to eighth-seeded Louisiana State in the first round by a score of 75–71 to finish the year at 26–6 overall.

Stevens' 56–10 two-year record places him second only to Bill Guthridge (58) in total wins during one's first two years as head coach. 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. He was also named as a finalist for the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award. Stevens was given a one-year contract extension at the conclusion of the season.

Fueled in large part by Gordon Hayward's and Shelvin Mack's roles in leading Team USA to the gold medal in the FIBA Under-19 World Championship during the off-season, Butler began the season ranked 10th in the Coaches' Poll and 11th in the AP Poll. A few commentators picked the Bulldogs as a possible "sleeper team" to make the Final Four. Stevens was not so sure, privately telling his father, "We have a really good team, and I'm not sure how far we can go this year, but next year, we ought to go really far."

Butler got off to a mediocre start, losing twice in the 76 Classic 82–73 to 22nd-ranked Minnesota and to 19th-ranked Clemson 70–69. After the tournament Butler's record stood at 4–2 and the team dropped to #23 in the AP Poll and #20 in the Coaches' Poll. Butler won its next two games before falling to 13th-ranked Georgetown 72–65 in the Jimmy V Classic. The team won its next two games beating #15 Ohio State 74–66 and edging out former conference rival Xavier 69–68, both at home. After losing 67–57 at UAB three days later, Butler stood at 9–4 and fell out of the AP rankings. However, the team remained in the Coaches Poll at #23.

Stevens rallied the team, and they proceeded to win 16 straight games before facing Siena in a BracketBusters game. Butler beat Siena 70–53 and Stevens tied the NCAA record for most wins (81) by a head coach in his first three seasons set by Mark Few of Gonzaga in 2002 and tied by Mark Fox of Nevada in 2007.

On February 26, 2010, Butler traveled to Valparaiso for their regular season finale. Leading scorer Gordon Hayward was sidelined with lower back pain, but the team still won 74–69. In so doing, Stevens broke the coaching record he had tied the prior week and Butler completed an 18–0 undefeated conference schedule. It was Butler's first undefeated conference record since joining the Horizon League, and first since Joe Sexson led the 1978 team to a 6–0 record in the now defunct Indiana Collegiate Conference. Stevens earned his third straight regular-season conference championship.

In the Horizon league tournament, Stevens' Bulldogs used their home-court advantage to beat Milwaukee 68–59 in the semi-finals and to beat Wright State 70–45 in the finals. The win earned the team an automatic bid into the 2010 NCAA tournament, and completed a 20–0 run through league play. 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. Stevens was also the only coach in Division I to lead his team to an undefeated conference schedule during the 2009–10 season.

For their season, the Bulldogs were ranked 8th in the final pre-NCAA tournament Coaches' Poll and 11th in the corresponding AP Poll. On Selection Sunday, the Bulldogs were seeded fifth in the West regional of the NCAA tournament and given a first-round match up with twelfth seeded UTEP on March 18.

Many basketball commentators picked UTEP to pull the upset, and at halftime it looked like they might be right, as UTEP led 33–27. Stevens made a number of halftime adjustments, and the Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. The team dominated the second half and won the game 77–59. Butler next faced off with thirteenth seeded Murray State. The game was close throughout, but Butler emerged victorious 54–52 when Hayward deflected a Murray State pass into the back court with less than five seconds on the clock. The win gave Stevens the first Sweet Sixteen appearance of his career.

On March 25, 2010, Butler faced top-seeded Syracuse. The Bulldogs got off to a good start, jumping out to a 12–1 lead and a 35–25 halftime advantage. Syracuse rallied in the second half, taking its first lead of the game, 40–39, off a Wes Johnson three-pointer. Stevens called timeout and Butler regained the lead on its next possession, stopping the run. At the 5:32 mark, Syracuse got a rare fast break opportunity that ended with a dunk and 54–50 lead. Stevens again called time out and re-focused the team. Butler responded by holding Syracuse scoreless for the next five minutes, taking a 60–54 lead with 0:59 to go. Butler held on to win 63–59, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.

Two days later, Stevens' Bulldogs met second-seeded Kansas State in the regional finals. Perhaps feeling the effects of their double overtime 101–96 win two days prior, Kansas State got off to a slow start, scoring just 20 points in the first half to trail 27–20. Butler kept the lead in the upper single digits for most of the second half, before Kansas State went on a 13–2 run and took a 52–51 lead. Stevens immediately called time out and re-focused the team. "Play your game. Just play your game," he told them. On the ensuing possession, Butler regained the lead for good. They outscored Kansas State 12–4 the rest of the way and won the game 63–56. In the post game celebration, Stevens and walk-on forward Emerson Kampen connected on a flying back-bump that became one of the iconic images of the tournament.

The win earned the Bulldogs a trip to Indianapolis for the first Final Four appearance in school and Horizon League history. The win made Stevens, at age 33, the youngest coach to lead a team to the Final Four since Bob Knight made his first Final Four appearance at age 32 in 1973. Butler became the smallest school (enrollment 4,200) to make the Final Four since seeding began in 1979.

On April 3, Stevens and the Butler Bulldogs faced off with Michigan State in the national semi-finals. Michigan State took an early 14–7 lead, and Matt Howard got in early foul trouble, sitting most of the first half. Stevens kept the team focused with a "next man up" attitude and the game was tied at 28 at halftime. The second half was dominated by tight defense for both sides. With 2:45 to go in the game, the score was 47–44 Butler. Michigan State called a time out to set up a play. Stevens correctly anticipated the play call and had Ronald Nored, the team's best defender, switch onto Korie Lucious off a screen. Nored stole the ball and Shawn Vanzant got fouled on the resulting run out, hitting 1 of 2. Trailing 50–49 with under 30 seconds remaining, Michigan State came up empty and was forced to foul. Nored hit both foul shots, giving Butler a 52–49 lead. After a Michigan State time out, Stevens had his team foul Lucious with two seconds remaining to prevent a potentially game tying 3-pointer. After making the first, Lucious intentionally missed the second free throw. Hayward came down with the rebound to seal the victory. Butler became the first team since the shot clock was adopted for the 1985–86 season to hold five straight tournament opponents under 60 points.

On April 5, 2010, Butler and Duke faced off in what The New York Times called "the most eagerly awaited championship game in years". Late in the first half, Duke went on an 8–0 run to take a 26–20 lead. Stevens called a timeout. With starters Matt Howard and Ronald Nored on the bench in foul trouble, Stevens was forced to call on backup center Avery Jukes who came up big for Butler. Jukes scored 10 first half points, tying his season high. At half time, Duke's lead stood at 33–32.

The second half was played very closely, with neither team taking a substantial lead. With 3:16 to play, Duke took a 60–55 lead on two made free throws by Nolan Smith. Butler cut the lead to one point in the final minute and, after a missed Kyle Singler jump shot with 36 seconds remaining, got a chance to retake the lead. Butler was unable to initiate their offense and Stevens called a timeout to set up a play. A failed inbounds attempt and a timeout later, Hayward missed a baseline fade-away jumper and Brian Zoubek came down with the rebound for Duke. He was quickly fouled with less than four seconds remaining. Hayward narrowly missed a desperation half-court shot as time expired, making the final margin 61–59.

The loss snapped Butler's 25-game winning streak, the longest in school history. Butler became the smallest school to play for a National Championship since Jacksonville in 1970. 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. 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. He was also a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which was won by Bob Marlin.

Butler finished the year ranked #2 in the Coaches' Poll, the highest ranking in school history. The school was ranked for 19 consecutive weeks, tying the school record.

After the end of the 2009–10 season, Stevens and Butler continued to attract considerable attention. Then-U.S. president Barack Obama personally called Stevens to congratulate him on Butler's season. David Letterman had Stevens on his show for a guest appearance. Butler admissions inquiries increased by 67%. Stevens received fan letters from around the world, and his phone rang off the hook. Stevens was even invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch before the Chicago Cubs vs. Florida Marlins game in Chicago on May 10. "It's all been very surreal," Stevens said. "If you are the runner-up, you don't expect to talk to the president." "It's been a little overwhelming, because I'm a pretty simple guy," he added.

The 2009–10 season also helped increase Butler's recruiting profile. Asked if the increased fame would change things, Stevens said it better not spoil him or the university. "I look at this new challenge of not changing and sticking to your core values and making sure you remain humble as a great coaching opportunity."

Rankings by ESPN's Andy Katz and Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman released shortly after the 2010 Championship game both had Butler third for the 2010–2011 season. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski agreed, saying Butler would be"right up there, No. 1 or No. 2... They'll be a favorite next year." However, Hayward chose to leave early for the NBA draft and Butler went through a rough patch early in the season, at one point losing three straight games and having a 6–5 conference record. Bolstered by the emergence of Andrew Smith at center and Matt Howard's success as a perimeter forward, Butler ended up winning a share of the conference title at 13–5. The Bulldogs then won the Horizon League tournament to secure an automatic NCAA tournament bid, and received the No. 8 seed.

Picked by many to lose a first-round match-up against Old Dominion, Butler advanced on a last-second tip-in by Howard. Howard was also clutch in their next game, hitting a free throw with a less than one second remaining to beat Pitt in a dramatic finish. Shelvin Mack scored 30 points in the win. Butler won their next game when they defeated Wisconsin. On March 26, 2011, the Bulldogs beat Florida 74–71 in overtime to earn back-to-back trips to the Final Four. On April 2, Butler beat fellow Cinderella team VCU 70–62 to make it to a second consecutive national championship game. For the second consecutive year, the Bulldogs fell in the national championship game, this time to Connecticut.

On April 8, 2010, Stevens signed a long-term deal with Butler, extending his contract through the 2021–22 season. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed; however, Butler president Bobby Fong had publicly stated that the university could afford to increase Stevens' base salary to approximately US $1,000,000 a few days prior. Stevens had previously made US$395,000 plus benefits in base salary, a relatively low figure for a successful Division I head basketball coach. His total compensation for 2009–10 was estimated at US$750,000. 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.

By re-signing with Butler, Stevens temporarily ended speculation that he would leave the university for a higher paying job. Oregon, Clemson, and Wake Forest were all said to be interested in offering Stevens multi-million dollar contracts to leave Butler. "First and foremost, I'm loyal to Butler," Stevens said. When asked if he would ever leave Butler, Stevens replied "I guess if they kicked me out."

After the 2011–12 season, Stevens was pursued vigorously by Illinois to fill their coaching vacancy before he declined their offer.

In March 2013, UCLA reportedly offered Stevens between $2.5 and $3 million a year to leave Butler. Rumors circulated that Stevens was in contract negotiations with UCLA, but ultimately the rumors proved false and Stevens stayed at Butler. Commenting on the situation, a source close to Stevens said "Brad doesn't understand why people would assume he's leaving." A few days later, Stevens reiterated that he was very happy at Butler and had no intentions to leave as long as he had the support of the university to continue running the program the "right way".

NBA coaching career

On July 3, 2013, Stevens was signed as the head coach for the Boston Celtics to coach in the NBA. In April 2015, in his second season as head coach, Stevens led the Celtics to the 2015 playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a 40–42 record. On April 21, 2015, it was announced that Stevens finished fourth in voting for the NBA's Coach of the Year Award. In April 2016, Stevens led the Celtics to their second consecutive playoff appearance as the fifth seed in the 2016 playoffs, finishing the season with a 48–34 record.

Stevens was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2015. He led the Celtics to the East's best record in April at 7–1. The Celtics recorded a 4–0 mark on the road, and closed the month with six consecutive victories – five of them against playoff teams. On February 28, 2016, Stevens was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for February. He guided his squad to an Eastern Conference-best 9–3 record during the month, including a perfect 6–0 mark at home. The Celtics (36–25 overall) finished the month in sole possession of third place in the East behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlantic Division foe the Toronto Raptors.

On June 1, 2016, Stevens received a contract extension. On February 3, 2017, Stevens was named the Eastern Conference head coach for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. In April 2017, in his fourth season as head coach, Stevens led the Celtics to the 2017 playoffs as the first seed in the Eastern Conference with a 53–29 record. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.

On July 4, 2017, Stevens was reunited with his former college player Gordon Hayward when Hayward signed a contract to play for the Celtics. In the 2017–18 season, the Celtics' roster saw a massive change, as two-time All-Star Isaiah Thomas was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving. Stevens and the Celtics went 55–27, finishing the season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, despite losing Hayward for the season to a broken ankle in the first game of the season and Irving missing significant playing time due to knee injuries. Despite Irving missing the playoffs, Stevens led the Celtics on a deep playoff run, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Stevens was considered a front runner for the NBA Coach of the Year Award, but lost to Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors.

Executive career

On June 2, 2021, the Celtics named Stevens president of basketball operations replacing Danny Ainge after he announced his retirement. On June 18, 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. The deal gave the Celtics a bit more financial flexibility with Horford due about $20 million less than Walker over the next two years. The Celtics also improved their depth in the frontcourt by adding Horford and Moses Brown, who recorded 21 points and 23 rebounds, which included 19 rebounds in the first half, in a March 27 game between the Celtics and the Thunder. On June 23, 2021, it was reported that Stevens had made the decision to hire Ime Udoka as his own replacement as head coach of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics advanced to the 2022 NBA Finals in Udoka's first year as coach and Stevens' first year as executive, but lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

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