Brad Stevens built a Boston roster that earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference last season, then had to part ways with four members of that roster to escape what could have been a massive luxury tax bill.
The result? Boston was No. 2 in the East again -- and remains a legitimate championship hopeful in a season where many likely expected otherwise.
It all earned Stevens the NBA's Executive of the Year award on Monday, his second time winning that trophy in the past three seasons. He's the 12th two-time winner and the sixth person to win twice within a three-year span.
Stevens received 11 first-place votes from a panel of 30 basketball executives -- one from each of the NBA's teams -- who ranked their top three choices in order. Stevens appeared on 17 of those 30 ballots, as did Atlanta's Onsi Saleh, who finished second. Detroit's Trajan Langdon, who has overseen a massive turnaround with the Pistons, was third for the second consecutive season.
Sam Presti of Oklahoma City, last year's winner, was fifth. San Antonio's Brian Wright was sixth, Houston's Rafael Stone seventh, Phoenix's Brian Gregory eighth, while Cleveland's Koby Altman and Denver's Josh Kroenke tied for ninth. Memphis' Zach Kleiman and the Los Angeles Lakers' Rob Pelinka tied for 11th.