Brad Stevens: Where Does He Rank Among NBA Coaches?
Brad Stevens is a really good coach. Let’s put it this way, he somehow led the Boston Celtics to the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, just one year removed from a high lottery pick. They may have had a 40-42 record overall, but Stevens led them to that with a roster that traded away its two best players in Jeff Green and Rajon Rondo.
Not only are fans raving about Brad Stevens, but NBA executives and famous NBA gamblers are too. He came in 4th place in the 2014-15 Coach of the Year vote and earned high praise from Celtics announcers Mike Gorman and Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn throughout the season. One executive ranked him as the third best coach behind Gregg Popovich and Rick Carlisle, and the consensus seems to be that he’s a top 10 coach in the league.
Here’s my list:
- Gregg Popovich
- Rick Carlisle
- Doc Rivers
- Steve Kerr
- Mike Budenholzer
- Erik Spoelstra
- Frank Vogel
- Brad Stevens
- George Karl
- Kevin McHale
How did I come up with my list? I factored in experience, records over the years, team talent, media polls, and of course my own view on the impact each coach has on their team.
Stevens has earned the praise of other great coaches, including the one topping my list. After the Spurs played the Celtics in Boston last November Popovich said of Stevens, “He was a hell of a coach before he got here and he’ll be an even better coach as time goes on. He’s a special guy, that’s why Danny Ainge went and got him.”
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He even got praise from his predecessor Doc Rivers, who said this week of Stevens, “He’s a terrific coach. He runs terrific stuff. And I thought this year, after all the trades, you could see he had a group of guys that believed in him and you can see the difference in their play. That’s huge.”
I rate Stevens highly because of his track record of getting the absolute most out of his players. He somehow made Jordan Crawford quite competent for at least a week and he guided Evan Turner to a great first season in Boston, something Frank Vogel could not do during Turner’s time in Indiana. As Rivers touched on, Stevens clearly has a locker room full of players who trust his decisions and play extremely hard for him. The future looks bright in Boston with Stevens leading the way.
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