On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise hired their last head coach Brad Stevens away from Butler University, his job as head coach for the previous six years. Stevens had led Butler to consecutive NCAA national title games against Duke and UConn before joining the Celtics and never won less than 22 games a season while with that collegiate team.
The Zionsville, Indiana native has since coached the Celtics for eight seasons after inking an initial six-year, $22 million contract; Stevens was extended in 2016 for an undisclosed term and salary. He would win Eastern Conference Coach of the Month three times in that span and the Eastern Conference Finals with Boston as many times as well.
Before becoming the team’s latest team president at the end of the 2020-21 NBA season, he would amass a 354-282 regular season and 38-40 postseason coaching record, good for .557 and .487 winning percentages respectively.