On Tuesday afternoon, a new piece of NBA history was created when Boston Celtics General Manager Brad Stevens became the 12th front office NBA executive to win Executive of the Year for the second time. Many were proud of the former head coach, but another part of the basketball community believes Onsi Saleh was the rightful recipient, opening the door to debate.
Onsi Saleh changed everything for the Hawks
Saleh made headlines from the very beginning of the league year in the Summer of 2025. It all began at the 2025 NBA Draft when they traded their 13th overall pick (Derik Queen) to the New Orleans Pelicans for the 23rd pick and an unprotected pick in the highly anticipated 2026 NBA Draft.
He followed it up by hitting a home run. His first time at the plate, he signed the 2026 Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker in NBA Free Agency. On top of signing the surging Canadian, he acquired NBA Champion Kristaps Porzingis to finally close the hole in Atlanta's interior defense.
It was the most active Atlanta had been in a long time, but the roster would suffer a slew of injuries during the beginning of the season. On October 29, Mouhamaed Gueye would fall backward onto Trae Young’s right knee, shredding the ligaments in his MCL.
Little did they know, it was a blessing in disguise as Jalen Johnson rose to an All-Star level. The benefit of losing Trae Young wouldn’t take full effect until he was traded to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. Although it drew controversy in the media, Young’s poor defense was exacerbated by Kristaps Porzingis’ absence due to health issues.
By the All-Star break, the Hawks were 26-30, but Saleh was able to save their season further by trading Porzingis to Golden State for Jonathan Kuminga.
Compiling the new roster put Atlanta on track to finish the season 46-36, their best record since 2021. Surviving the rollercoaster of a season was an amazing litmus test for the Edmonton native, but it wasn’t enough as he finished in second place to the now two-time Executive of the Year.
A brilliant year for Brad Stevens
The results revealed a landslide victory for the former Stevens, finishing with 11 first-place votes, compared to Saleh’s one. It’s certainly a credible committee of voters, as the executives are the voters rather than the media.
Although Hawks fans were gutted by the news, Stevens did a great job avoiding the tax apron and maintaining a championship contender. He signed Luka Garza, drafted Hugo Gonzalez, and developed Baylor Schieremen. All three are key pieces in the rotation on team-friendly contracts and will likely remain with the Celtics for the foreseeable future.
That group was a massive reason for Boston’s 56-win season on what was supposed to be a “down year” for the 18-time champions. With Jayson Tatum rehabbing for the majority of the season, Jaylen Brown became an MVP candidate and solidified himself as an All-NBA caliber talent.
Stevens also replaced the impact of NBA Champion Al Horford with Nikola Vučević after trading Anfernee Simmons to the Chicago Bulls. The two-time All-Star has become the grizzled veteran for the Celtics, holding down the post on defense.
We can only imagine how the Celtics could have performed with Tatum if he had never torn his Achilles, but it forced Stevens to raise his game to an even higher level.
The deciding factor between the two
It’s evident that Saleh and Stevens both had relatively good seasons, as both teams are chasing the Larry O’Brien trophy in the 2026 Playoffs. However, there can only be one winner, and the deciding factor was likely Boston’s superior record in the regular season.
They were stable all season, sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings as the No.2 seed, while Atlanta crawled back from the 10th seed to finish sixth. It’s a results business, and the Celtics produced better numbers across the board.
With the loaded 2026 draft on the horizon, Saleh has a chance to get a head start for the 2027 Executive of the Year, and it’s evident that Onsi is prepared to make even more moves during NBA Free Agency this summer.
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