Nearly three years ago, on July 3, 2013, the NBA (and college) basketball world was surprised when the Boston Celtics announced that they had hired Brad Stevens away from Butler.
Brad Stevens, a native of Zionsville, Ind., had his contract extended by the Celtics after three seasons.
Stevens, undoubtedly one of the best young coaches at the time, had taken the Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA Title games and continued to build a program with players that fit.
[NBA players taking notice of Brad Stevens]
Exactly one month before the start of NBA free agency, the Celtics announced Wednesday that they had extended the contract of coach Stevens, who’ll turn 40 in October.
“My family and I were thrilled to have been approached with this contract extension,” Stevens said in a statement. “We sincerely appreciate the empowering leadership of our ownership and front office, the opportunity to work alongside such a talented staff, the support of our tremendous fans, and of course, the commitment and hard work of the players wearing this jersey.”
This comes halfway through the original six-year deal (worth $22 million) that Stevens signed in 2013.
Ainge on Brad Stevens: "We don't have to answer any more questions about Indiana or Butler, or Duke, or North Carolina."
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) June 1, 2016
See Also: Brad Stevens no longer the youngest active NBA head coach
Stevens, without any top-tier talent, has led the Celtics to the postseason in each of the last two years. This past season, they went 48-34 in the regular season before losing in six games to the Atlanta Hawks in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs.
[Brad Stevens on Vogel: ‘He’s one of the best‘]