How Joe Mazzulla, Brad Stevens reacted to Executive of the Year win

Brad Stevens, the Celtics president of basketball operations, was named NBA Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons, the league announced Tuesday.

Stevens, who also won the award in 2024, earned 69 total points in the voting, with Atlanta’s Onsi Saleh (41), and Detriot’s Trajan Langdon (40) rounding out the top three candidates.

Stevens received 11 first-place votes. He was the only candidate to get more than six. He is the 12th NBA executive to win the award more than once. Stevens joined Red Auerbach, and Danny Ainge as the Celtic executives to win the award.

“These awards are organizational awards, and everyone in this building shares in this recognition,” said Stevens. “I am just thankful to be there in a support role for our players, coaches and staff. They are truly amazing.”

“There’s nothing I cherish more professionally than getting to be a part of a true team and competing at the highest level, and I am thankful to the Celtics for giving us that opportunity.”

The Celtics have won at least 51 games in each of the past five seasons since Stevens took over the position in 2021. They reached the NBA Finals twice in that span, winning the championship in 2024.

The Knicks eliminated the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs last season, marking the only time Boston failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals over that five-year stretch.

The Celtics’ 118-91 setback in Game 6 against the Knicks was exacerbated by Jayson Tatum’s ruptured Achilles tendon. It led to Tatum’s lengthy absence at the beginning of this season and a turnover of the Celtics’ roster, with the trade of Kristaps Porzingis (Hawks) and Jrue Holiday (Blazers) in the offseason in addition to the free agent departures of Al Horford (Warriors) and Luke Kornet (Spurs).

Despite those changes, the Celtics won 56 games during the regular season and secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, overcoming what had been projected as a gap year. Through a combination of savvy acquisitions and player development, Stevens helped keep the team competitive.

“I think [it’s] not just him, but the front office in general,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “The front office, the scouting department, the analytics department. There’s a lot that goes into signing a guy, drafting a guy, and bringing a guy in.”

“It’s a very diligent process. A lot of communication goes into that. I think there’s a lot of alignment into how we play basketball. So, with that, [they] allow people to do their jobs and those guys are really good at what they do.”

Stevens coached the Celtics for eight seasons before becoming an executive. Mazzulla said Stevens’s support and coaching experience have been helpful to him over the years.

“I think just being around each other every day — having to get through wins, losses, playoff series — you just develop an understanding of each other, a level of communication, and an alignment. Then, you just pull from each other’s experiences because you’ve been there together.”

Embiid gives it a go

76ers center Joel Embiid was listed as probable heading into Tuesday’s Game 5. He wound up starting, making his second appearance in the series.

Sunday’s Game 4 loss was the first time Embiid played since having an emergency appendectomy last month.

He logged 34 minutes and posted a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but the Celtics throttled the host Sixers, 128-96, to take a 3-1 series lead.

“At least we got some data against them to look at,” said 76ers coach Nick Nurse. “See what needs to be done differently, what changes we need to make schematically, so at least it gives us that.”