Last offseason, Brad Stevens had to make cuts — the team that had won the title just more than a year before was about to get far too expensive. It was not pain free. Gone were three key pieces of the 2024 championship puzzle: Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Combine that with Jayson Tatum being expected to miss most or all of the season, and expectations were low in Boston.

The result: 56 wins, the No. 2 seed, and being the betting favorite to take the East heading into the playoffs.

All that had his peers vote to hand Sevens the NBA Executive of the Year award.

This is the second time Stevens has won the award, he also did so two years ago for assembling the team that won a title, the one he had to disassemble last offseason.

Stevens received 11 first-place votes and was on 17 ballots, cast by a panel of 30 basketball executives (one from each team). Atlanta's Onsi Saleh finished second in the voting, with Detroit's Trajan Langdon third (for the second consecutive season).