How Brad Stevens became NBA best executive for the second time
Following the 2025-26 regular season, Brad Stevens received his second NBA Executive of the Year award. In 2024, the Boston Celtics’ president of basketball operations was recognized for the major trades of Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday, which helped them win the title. However, his current triumph is of a completely different nature. 1xBet explores what exactly makes it different.
Before the start of the season, Boston was viewed as a team in transition. Jayson Tatum’s injury during the 2025 playoffs seemed to put an end to their championship hopes. An Achilles tendon rupture is an injury that typically requires about a year of recovery, with no guarantee of an immediate return to previous form.
In this situation, most experts expected the Celtics to rebuild and likely tank to secure the highest possible draft pick. Instead, Stevens reshaped the roster so effectively that the team not only made the playoffs but now looks like at least a contender to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
The main reason fellow executives once again voted for Brad lies in his phenomenal handling of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Stevens delivered a masterclass in financial maneuvering, saving the franchise approximately $350 million in taxes, all while avoiding a decline in on-court performance.
Here’s how he did it.
1. He shed the dead weight in the summer of 2025.
Boston got rid of expensive but injury-prone starters – Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis. Thanks for the title, but business is business. Instead, Stevens got cheaper, expiring contracts, including Anfernee Simons. At this stage alone, the savings on future tax payments amounted to roughly $150 million.
2. He went for cheap players.
Late first-round and second-round rookies are the cheapest assets in the league. For Stevens, even the $600,000 difference between the 22nd and 28th picks mattered, so he traded the 22nd pick to the Nets, and Hugo González, selected 28th, actively used in the rotation. Even more importantly, the club decided to promote yesterday’s bench players into the starting lineup – Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta. It allowed the team to remain competitive.
3. He stayed active at the trade deadline.
At the deadline, Stevens traded that same Simons for Nikola Vučević. It was a tactical step: they acquired an experienced center while also moving on from Simons, whose contract set to expire at the end of the season and would have been difficult to extend. Additionally, just before the deadline, Stevens exploited loopholes in the rules to get out of the “tax zone”.
Boston shed role players and left roster spots vacant for the maximum allowed period (14 days) to avoid paying unnecessary daily salaries. To further reduce the cap hit, the Celtics signed short-term 10-day contracts instead of full deals.
At the same time, head coach Joe Mazzulla got the most out of Jaylen Brown – the 2024 Finals MVP had the best season of his career and didn’t let the team feel Tatum’s absence. Then, in early March, Tatum returned, recovering in record time. As a result, Boston exited the tax zone, secured financial flexibility until 2030, and still retained its status as the Eastern Conference favorite.
Stevens’ work deserves the utmost respect not only from Boston fans but also from professionals, who awarded him NBA Executive of the Year for the second time.
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