Helping guide this organization has been the thrill of a lifetime, and having worked side-by-side with him since he's been here, I know we couldn't be in better hands than with Brad guiding the team going forward, i'm grateful to ownership, all of my Celtics colleagues, and the best fans in basketball for being part of the journey.

Danny Ainge

Daniel Ray Ainge ( AYNJ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former basketball professional basketball and executive, and baseball player. A three-sport star in high school, he was named to All-America teams in football, basketball, and baseball. At Brigham Young University, he was named national basketball college player of the year and won the John R. Wooden Award for the most outstanding male college basketball player. While in college, Ainge also played parts of three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB), mostly as a second baseman. He was then drafted into the NBA by the Celtics. Ainge played in the NBA for 14 seasons, playing for the Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns, primarily as a shooting guard. He went on to coach the Suns for three seasons before joining management of the Celtics, with whom Ainge has three NBA championships to his credit (two as a player, one as a team executive). During his playing career he appeared in one all star game, and was the NBA Executive of the Year in 2008. Ainge served as the Celtics' president of basketball operations from 2008 until his retirement in 2021.

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