Kick start to ‘new year’
Team USA inspires C’s Stevens
LAS VEGAS — Brad Stevens may not have been actively searching for the emotional mile marker that confirmed the end of the 201819 season and the start of what is to come, but he was happy when he came upon it nonetheless.
The Celtics coach found it some 3,400 miles away in Reims, France. And he found it, too, in his daughter’s eyes.
Having been through a tumultuous year, Stevens hung in through the NBA draft and then boarded a flight to Europe with wife Tracy, son Brady and daughter Kinsley. The ultimate destination was the Women’s World Cup, and, like the United States, Team Stevens emerged with a victory.
When the Celtics coach arrived here in Vegas for summer league a few days into the event and was asked for a minute to speak about the trip at some point, he broke into a wide smile and said it was the perfect transition from last season to this.
Two days later, he lit up again when discussing the European vacation.
“We saw the Spain game when (Megan) Rapinoe made the two penalty kicks. It was just great,” Stevens said of the United States’ 2-1 victory in the Round of 16. “You know, if we could buy a jersey of every single one of those players, we probably would have.
“It was one of the most fun sporting events I’ve been to, you know, to get a chance to go watch an international competition and cheer for the U.S. in a different country. We love soccer. My wife played soccer in college. My daughter plays now. My son played a little bit. It was a blast to watch.”
With Danny Ainge minding the store back in Boston, Stevens saw an opportunity.
“We moved on from last year with the draft, and it was like a really fun kickoff to the rest of our summer,” he said. “The kids had just gotten out of school. We went for two days to London, took a train over to Paris, went to the game, spent two days in Paris and then flew home. It was right after the draft and before free agency, so it was actually a good time to get away.”
There was some uncertainty involved with the U.S. women’s next game, so the family had to diagram the proper play, which wound up including an 80-mile drive.
“If they finished first (in their group), they were going to play in Reims,” Stevens said. “If they finished second, they were going to play in Paris, so we based out of Paris and then we took a car to Reims. It was so great. You know, we’re sitting in a cafe and a thousand or so U.S. fans come walking up the sidewalk and into the facility.”
When the Stevens family took their place in Stade Auguste-Delaune, 10-year-old Kinsley was moved by the pageantry as the U.S. women took the pitch and shed a tear.
“We got into the stadium, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen my daughter more in heaven, but it was a blast for all of us,” Stevens said. “I think it was that, you know, Brady has been able to go and watch a lot of big events. He loves basketball, so he gets to come to summer league. He gets to go to games all over the world, and he gets to watch all the people he looks up to up close. And Kinsley loves soccer, so for her to get a chance to watch all those women up close and the way that they compete and also represent the country, I mean, it was a blast to watch. It was cool to see a 10-year-old so struck by that.” Brad was, too. “Sometimes it’s fun just to be a fan and go do something different,” he said.
There were things for the coach in him to appreciate, as well.
“I listened to Julie Ertz call out everything from the middle of the field, from her center-mid spot,” Stevens said. “And the way they were all communicating all over the field was incredible.
“Any time you watch a team that operates in that fashion with such confidence, with such togetherness, it was fun.”
And he didn’t mind a bit that he was missing a Celtics event that day. The draft picks had gathered at the Red Auerbach Center to meet the media.
“While they were all on the podium doing their interviews, I was at the Spain-U.S. game,” Stevens said with a smile. “I told the rookies, ‘I apologize, but this is a lot more important than your introductory press conference is.’ “
Important for Stevens and his family in a number of ways.