What Celtics’ Brad Stevens Learned From Bill Belichick’s Patriots System
The Boston Celtics and New England Patriots feature just one instance of cross-sport collaboration that often comes around in the city.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens found the pinnacle of the city with the team winning the 2024 NBA Finals. Winning a championship gave Stevens, how coached Boston for seven seasons, a chance to reflect on his journey through the city. That included support and a resource in former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who set the tone for winning in the region.
“When I moved out here, you’re right in the middle of the Patriots’ dynasty,” Stevens shared on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday. “The quarterback room when I went and sat down with those guys – it’s (Tom) Brady, (Jimmy Garoppolo, (Jacoby) Brissett and Josh (McDaniels). You have all these future head coaches walking all over that building. Bill is obviously the most amazing resource you could ever have. You learn a lot from those people.”
Stevens took what he learned from studying the Patriots and applied it to his role in building the Celtics back to contention. He particularly credited Belichick’s ability to support talent with complimentary pieces, in this case for the Celtics with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“What we’ve been fortunate with in our runs of playoffs is that we had a chance to be good and, at the same time, had a couple of other picks that we knew were there,” Stevens explained. “Danny (Ainge) just had to get them right and boy, did he ever.”
“It’s about finding the people that fit best around them,” Stevens added.
Stevens and Belichick combine for seven championships during their respective tenures with the Celtics and the Patriots.