Danny Ainge wants no part of the Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick debate.
While it’s human nature to wonder whether Brady or Belichick played a bigger role in the New England Patriots’ dynasty, the Boston Celtics president of basketball operations wondered Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich” why everyone is so focused on pitting the two NFL legends against each other.
“Why can’t we as New Englanders just appreciate what a great era we had with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady — with nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl rings — and not just enjoy that instead of have a competition between Belichick and Brady and who’s more important?” Ainge asked.
“It’s so weird to me. It’s like, who was more important (to the Celtics), Bill Russell (or) Red Auerbach? Like, no. They both played a big role.”
The Brady vs. Belichick debate gained steam after the former left the Patriots to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. And it’s now reached another level with Brady and the Bucs one win away from Super Bowl LV.
But ultimately, as Ainge would agree, it’s a fruitless argument. New England probably wouldn’t have achieved the same level of success over the last two decades had Brady and Belichick not been together.
All in all, Ainge just hopes folks stop trying to spark similar debates with the Celtics’ two franchise players, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, for both are extremely important to Boston’s success moving forward.
