<P> Born and raised in Zionsville, Indiana, Stevens starred on the Zionsville Community High School basketball team, setting four school records . After high school, he attended DePauw University, where he played basketball and earned a degree in economics . He made the all - conference team multiple times and was a three - time Academic All - America nominee . He transitioned into coaching after quitting his job at Eli Lilly and Company, joining the basketball program at Butler University as a volunteer prior to the 2000--01 season . He was promoted to a full - time assistant coach the following season . After five seasons in the role, he assumed the position of head coach on April 4, 2007, after Todd Lickliter left to coach the Iowa Hawkeyes . In his first year, Stevens led Butler to 30 wins, becoming the third - youngest head coach in NCAA Division I history to have a 30 - win season . </P> <P> In 2010, his third year as head coach, Stevens broke the NCAA record for most wins in a coach's first three years, exceeding the previous record by eight wins . In the NCAA Tournament, Stevens coached Butler to the first Final Four in school history, while also becoming the second - youngest head coach to make a NCAA National Championship game, losing 61--59 to Duke . With the following season's team also making the Final Four, Stevens became the youngest coach to go to two Final Fours . Stevens coached the Bulldogs in their second consecutive national championship game on April 4, 2011, where the team again lost, this time to the Connecticut Huskies . Stevens was regularly named a finalist for Horizon League Coach of the Year award, winning twice, and was also a nominee for both the Hugh Durham Award and Jim Phelan Award in every year of his college career . </P> <P> This success garnered him a job with the NBA's Boston Celtics in 2013, when he signed a six - year, $22 - million - dollar contract to become head coach . After undertaking a rebuild early in his career, Stevens has led the Celtics to the NBA Playoffs every year since 2015, won a division champion ship, and appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals in each of his last two seasons . He has gained a reputation as one of the NBA's best coaches, with his motion offense and stingy defense earning plaudits from fans, peers, and players, and drawing comparisons to John Wooden . </P> <P> Bradley Kent Stevens grew up in Zionsville, Indiana, where he developed his love for basketball . Starting at age five, Stevens would watch taped basketball games "before he went to afternoon kindergarten". His father often drove him to Bloomington to watch Indiana Hoosiers games . "It's hard not to be (in love with basketball) when you're a kid growing up in Indiana", Stevens later said . </P>

When did brad stevens become the celtics coach