Brad Stevens: I said how happy I was for Jayson and Al and Jaylen, but I was really happy for Joe. He did a great job in year one under really tough circumstances. Then he came back and prepared exceptionally well and really had an unbelievable year and always recognized the whole time how fortunate we were to have the team we had. His leadership all the way throughout and the way he managed each part of the season, and the way we peaked in the playoffs, was really encouraging. Winning all those close games in the Indiana series, I just thought there were a lot of good things. It was cool to see that. It’s a reminder I think of how good he’s always been, and we knew that. [The criticism] was more intense than it should have been on him the year before, and that’s one of the reasons I am happy for him, because he didn’t deserve that the year before. And to his credit, I think he’s been super humble about this achievement, because that’s necessary, too. He has to handle this right, because people are going to follow his lead. -via Boston Globe / August 9, 2024