In January of 2025, the reigning champion Boston Celtics hosted the middling Sacramento Kings in a regular-season game that was quickly lost to time. The Kings surprised the C's at home and prevailed 114-97 following an offensive surge in the fourth quarter. And while many won't recall this random home game from two seasons ago, it seems like Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens remembers it well based on the front office's most recent maneuver.
On Monday morning, the Celtics signed former Kings guard Devin Carter to an Exhibit 10 contract that'll allow him to participate in training camp. Carter, who played his best college ball with the Providence Friars from 2022 to 2024, was a key player in the aforementioned loss the Celtics suffered.
The former first-round pick recorded 11 points in 17 minutes off the bench and cashed two big triples down the stretch that stunned the TD Garden crowd.
It’s no secret that Brad Stevens pays attention to which players cook the Celtics.
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) September 14, 2026
Here’s Devin Carter going off in the 4th quarter against the reigning champs back in 2025: pic.twitter.com/IBNz05Hf5x
The rest of Carter's 2024-25 campaign with the Kings wasn't noteworthy, as he averaged 11 minutes per game, shot under 30 percent from deep, and scored just 3.8 points per outing. However, Stevens has a tendency to go after players who burned the Celtics, regardless of their entire professional tenure.
For example, former Indiana Pacers forward Oshae Brissett had one of the best games of his NBA career (27 points in 34 minutes) during the 2022-23 regular season versus the Celtics. Stevens was left impressed because Boston signed him in free agency the following summer. The Toronto native joined the Celtics' "Stay Ready Crew" and was a part of their victorious run to the 2024 NBA title.
Fellow Celtics champion Kristaps Porzingis provides another instance of this foe-turned-friend trajectory — just on a larger scale. The two-time All-Star was with the lowly Washington Wizards in March of 2023 and had to face the playoff-bound Celtics in D.C. Instead of going through the motions with a subpar squad, Porzingis dominated with 32 points on 66 percent shooting, leading the Wizards to a surprising 130-111 victory.
Feel like it’s worth noting that the last time the Celtics and Wizards played Porzingis went off for 32 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. That might’ve drawn the eyes of the front office… pic.twitter.com/QH8S5NKg9W
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) June 21, 2023
Although the Celtics shook this late March loss off and moved forward to the postseason, Stevens didn't forget it. Boston traded for Porzingis a few months later and the 7-footer transformed the Celtics' offense en route to a championship.
There are many examples of Stevens' chasing "Celtics killers" (see Chris Boucher and even Paul George from last postseason). Whether or not Carter can turn into a similar success story remains to be seen since he still has to compete for a two-way spot in training camp. Clearly, though, Stevens may have seen something in the ex-lottery pick that other franchises might've overlooked.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Latest Celtics addition highlights Brad Stevens trend
