As the 2022 Celtics rightfully celebrate finally breaking through to the NBA Finals, lots has been made of the ‘credit stew’ that has helped finally get this team over the proverbial Eastern Conference Finals hump.
Former head coach and current President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has gotten his fair share. See trades to reacquire Al Horford and to replace Dennis Schroder with Derrick White as his two most impactful and notable moves.
Head coach Ime Udoka gets credit for adding a sorely missing dimension to the coaching staff, putting some much-needed conviction, weight and belief into the voice coming from the Celtics bench. Udoka has preached with consistency and conviction and the troops have bought in. He also helped to reprogram Marcus Smart which has been invaluable to this team’s ascension.
Due credit and well-deserved.
Former and long-time President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has received rightful appreciation and kudos for his drafting of the Celtics' young foundational stars and key assets: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams and Grant Williams.
It was a decision from June 2, 2021, however, and the decisions that were soon to follow, that deserve a second look and your appreciation. That credit goes to the Celtics ownership, Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca for making a bold and very uncommon stroke.
I wrote about it here: Dissecting an interesting day for the Celtics the very day the decision was made to retain and elevate Stevens to President of Basketball Operations, while Ainge was reportedly “stepping down.”
Stevens’ voice on the bench had fallen short that season and his courtside leadership was starting to be questioned. Was he the right fit any longer? Belief from his players was clearly lacking and Ainge’s conservative approach to hold onto his draft picks versus using them to fortify his current and young roster in need, had long since become frustrating to the Celtics fan base. This team was ripe for an overhaul and new vision.
However, in the rare case where sports and private sector business decisions intersect, Grousbeck and Pagliuca showed vision and bucked an obvious sports trend. Rather than dismissing Stevens, while the team’s organizational chart was suddenly changing, they recognized the talent they had in Stevens. They did what smart businesses and leaders within smart businesses do, they looked at their talent and found a better use for him. Rare in sports to see that. In fact, I can’t remember it ever happening.
In business, these types of decisions happen every day. Smart leaders are not narrow-minded. They don’t have a myopic view of the world or their people. They look beyond and recognize the whole of a person and ask themselves, “How can I better use that person.”
Had Grousbeck and Pagliuca simply looked at Stevens as ‘a coach’ that coach would be gone. They didn’t however. They looked at Stevens as a sharp basketball mind and a person that they wanted to keep in the organization. They recognized his talent and his potential utility. Then they figured out how to do it and make it attractive for all involved. That vision and ability to look beyond the title or the skillset only seen during the day-to-day grind, is why the Celtics are now finally where they stand: in the NBA Finals.
Everything fell into place from there. So if you are looking to offer credit to the Celtics' 2022 success, start at the top of the organization when you do. Cite the decision made back on June 2, 2021, to elevate Stevens amidst a massive organizational shift.
That’s where this 2022 NBA Finals appearance started. It started with a rare vision to believe in their own people. It started with the boldness to trust their instincts on the person (Stevens) and try something never or rarely done before in the sports business. They applied logic from their business success into their sports franchise, one that they hold in the trust of an emotional and passionate fan base. A broad, rare stroke that merits attention and recognition.
The individual ingredients of the ‘2022 Celtics stew’ include parts Ainge, Stevens, Udoka and of course, the players who executed the vision. Do not forget the owners on this one, however, who made the unique and trend-bucking decision when putting this winning menu together early last summer.