NBA: Top 10 candidates for Coach of the Year Award in 2017-18

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4. Brad Stevens

It didn’t take long for Brad Stevens to develop a reputation as one of the NBA’s brightest head coaches. After all the roster turnover for the Boston Celtics this summer, another finish atop the Eastern Conference standings could garner him serious consideration for Coach of the Year.

Having stars like Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward obviously helps there, but if the Celtics challenge for Eastern supremacy with such a young supporting cast like Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, it’ll be a testament to Stevens’ prowess as a head coach.

It’s not often that a team can lose 11 players from its roster the season before and still contend at the top of the conference, but if an almost entirely new Celtics team develops the chemistry to make noise in the East, Stevens will have to be acknowledged with considerable COY votes.