Brad Stevens named 2023-24 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year

Brad Stevens has been named Basketball Executive of the Year for the 2023-24 season, the NBA announced on Tuesday. The Celtics finished with a league-best 64-18 record, and ended the year with the 6th highest all-time total point differential, with +930 on the year, per StatMuse. They now hold a 3-1 series lead in the opening round of the playoffs against Miami.

Stevens’ offseason was headlined by the team’s trades for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. The Celtics sent Marcus Smart to Memphis in order to acquire Porzingis, and lost Rob Williams and Malcolm Brogdon in the trade for Holiday. Both Porzingis and Holiday have since been extended long-term — Porzingis until 2026, and Holiday until 2028.

Shortly after the Holiday acquisition, Stevens said: ““There’s a list of guys in the league that you always think you’ve never had a real chance to get that you think are perfect fits, and Jrue is one of those guys.”

Additionally, the Celtics signed Jaylen Brown to a 5-year supermax contract, keeping him in Boston until 2029. Brown had another All Star season on the heels of the extension, averaging 23 points on a career-high 49.9% shooting.

Stevens also signed Payton Pritchard to a 4-year, $30 million contract ahead of the season, and Pritchard subsequently enjoyed a career-year, averaging a career-high 9.6 points on 46.8% shooting.

That means a core that includes Porzingis, Holiday, Brown, Pritchard core is locked down long-term, with Jayson Tatum expected to join that group this summer. Derrick White has one year left on his current deal and extending him has also been a stated priority of Stevens.

“Derrick is a huge, huge part of our team, and we want him around for as long as we can keep him,” Stevens said earlier this month.

Stevens was considered a frontrunner for the award and he won by a landslide, finishing with 101 total points, including 16 of 25 first-place votes. Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti came in second with 47 points, while Minnesota’s Tim Connelly came in third with 29 points.