Brad Stevens is at the forefront of the Coach of the Year discussion this season, but he actually thinks that another candidate is more deserving.
Before the Boston Celtics played the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, the Celtics head coach said that he “could care less” about the award and that there was “no way” he would consider himself to be a part of the race. Stevens also went on to say that Raptors counterpart Dwane Casey should be at the top of the list, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.
Brad Stevens’ thoughts on his Coach of the Year candidacy: "Could care less. There’s 29 other great coaches, and just to be a head coach in this league is enough. … There’s no way that I would ever consider myself to be in that race." pic.twitter.com/ZyYNoBNYCF
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) March 31, 2018
The 55-21 Raptors and the 53-23 Celtics are head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in the East, and it is a credit to the respective jobs that Casey and Stevens have done. The former has elevated a seemingly stale core to a truly elite level this season, while the latter has turned a largely inexperienced team that lost Gordon Hayward for the year into a title contender.
Though there are a few deserving candidates for the award, Casey and Stevens could just find themselves No. 1 and No. 2 in Coach of the Year voting this year. But it sounds like Stevens would be perfectly fine with being the No. 2.
