When coaches from other teams visited New England Patriots practices during the Bill Belichick era, their trips usually consisted of chatting with the legendary coach on the sideline, meeting a few assistants and perhaps making a brief speech to the team before hitting the road.
But Brad Stevens got roped into a lot more during his time in Foxboro.
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Former Patriots safety Devin McCourty joined NBC Sports Boston's Kayla Burton on the debut episode of Hoopin', in which McCourty showed off his basketball skills alongside Burton while speaking on a variety of topics. One story McCourty told was the time then-Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens came to a Patriots practice and got coerced to participate in a players-only tradition.
"The dude was awesome," McCourty said of Stevens. "He came into our building a couple times, and back then we would have what we call 'Fellowship Friday.' We got out early (from practice) and everybody usually jets out the door, (but) we would all sit around and eat and hang out, and most of the time we would talk about basketball.
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"I felt so bad, but Gordon Hayward and Brad Stevens come in, and we're like, 'You've got to sit down with us! Fellowship Friday, we talk nothing but ball.' And he sits down, and all of the arguments that we've had over the season were like, 'Is this guy a role player or NBA All-Star?' And we're just going at him with (names), and each time he answers, the person who was arguing that side is like, 'I told you! I told you! You heard Coach, he said it!' And he was just smiling, laughing, joking with us."
MORE CELTICS COVERAGE
While Stevens may have felt a bit uncomfortable sharing his takes on other NBA players in front of a bunch of Patriots, McCourty appreciated the head coach's willingness to hang out with the players in a more relaxed setting.
"I always thought that was really cool," McCourty said. "You watch the team, you usually sit and talk to Bill, talk to the coaching staff, but he sat down there and hung out with us talking ball."
McCourty added he texted Stevens -- now the Celtics' president of basketball operations -- after the 2024 NBA Finals to congratulate him on Boston's championship, so he clearly has a lot of respect for the head coach-turned executive.
Watch the full episode of Hoopin' below to hear McCourty dish on the following topics and more:
- How playing in the NYC hoop scene made him realize football was his best path
- Favorite moments from attending Celtics games as a celebrity fan
- Which ex-Patriots players can hoop -- and which CAN'T
