Celtics’ G-League Coach Reveals Crucial Lesson He Learned From Brad Stevens

The Boston Celtics have enjoyed a strong start to the 2025-26 campaign, and the same is true for their G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. While they haven’t been perfect, the team has posted a 5-4 record through its first nine games.

Maine is being led by first-year head coach Phil Pressey, who previously spent three seasons working in Boston on Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff. Add in the fact that Pressey was initially drafted by the Celtics during his time in the league as a player, and his ties to the team are longstanding.

Pressey played for the C’s back when Brad Stevens, who now runs the operation in the front office, was still the team’s head coach. When looking back at his time with Stevens, Pressey revealed how his former head coach taught him an important lesson that he has carried with him in his first season with Maine.

“As a pro, playing for Brad Stevens, I think for him, character is everything,” Pressey said on “View From The Rafters.” “He coaches the human first, and that’s something that I learned from him.

Being able to be a head coach for the first time and coming across a lot of players from different cultures and different backgrounds, you see the talent is there. The talent is usually equal, but that character piece is this big separator.”

Stevens came in and helped get the Celtics back on track during his time as the team’s head coach. At the start of his tenure, that saw him find a way to get the most out of his roster on a yearly basis, and in Pressey’s eyes, that was due to his ability to connect with every player on the team.

Pressey has looked to carry that with him as he works with some of the C’s top prospects in Maine. So far, the results have been encouraging, and Pressey will look to continue to make a name for himself as one of the brightest coaching prospects in the league as the 2025-26 season continues to unfold.