Phil Pressey: back in Boston, a genuine personality and tireless effort kept him moving up (2024)

Most NBA benches have two rows. The front row is for the players and top coaches, including Joe Mazzulla, Charles Lee, Sam Cassell and others. The second row is where most of the other assistants sit.

And then there are the coaches that are truly behind-the-scenes. That’s where people like Phil Pressey shine.

“Yeah, we got a great coaching staff,” said Jayson Tatum. “Obviously, you guys know the guys on the front of the bench and the guys on the back. Even the guys that stay in the locker room. Phil Pressey, Jermaine [Bucknor], and all those guys. A younger group, but they’re hungry.

“Our coaches work really, really hard to prepare us with film and making sure we’re going over the right things every day in practice or shootaround, or whenever we can meet on the court. So, we have a great group. A great coaching staff.”

Pressey is known for his brief stint playing for the Boston Celtics from 2013 to 2015. He signed on as a player development coach this past summer, but his work goes largely unnoticed.

While most coaches are on the bench watching the game unfold in front of them, Pressey is in the locker room. He’s doing the work to help the team improve that fans don’t know about. Whether finding clips or preparing for upcoming games, Pressey keeps the show running.

“Him and Phil have a thankless job just because they never get to be out there,” Joe Mazzulla said of Jermaine Bucknor and Pressey. “They’re never focusing on our current game. They’re always focusing on the opponent ahead.”

Before every game, Pressey sits by the Celtics bench hours before tip-off with his laptop. He’ll pull up film, call players over to watch with him, and jump into the pre-game action to assist with drills.

His connection to the organization may have aided him in earning an opportunity, but according to those who have known him for years, he’ll stick around because of who he is.

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Pressey’s hoops journey peaked at the highest level. But it started with surprises.

He and former Celtics teammate Jared Sullinger came up on the scene at the same time. “Me and Phil have known each other since the high school days,” said Sullinger. “Growing up in the ranks. Being in the class of 2010. All those camps, Elite 24s, Nike Hoop Jamborees, all those camps watching Phil play.”

By the time he made it to the league, Pressey was just 5-foot-11. When he was playing on the AAU circuit, he hadn’t even reached that height. Still, he managed to awe entire rooms with what he could do on the court.

“I remember how small he was,” said Sullinger. “And I’m like, ‘Man, who is this small little guy out there on the court?’ This was before we’d been through camps and been through anything. It was just like, this small little guy that was just navigating through the paint and finding open people and getting layups.

“And then, I’ll never forget, he had an opportunity to go right across the middle, and he turned around, and he dunked it. And it was just like, he took the crowd, and they just went into absolute silence because it was just like this 5-foot-7 kid. There’s no reason why he was that athletic at like 5-foot-7 with his straight back cornrow braids. It was absolutely unbelievable.”

At every possible turn, Pressey has impressed. He’ll see a bar placed in front of him and leap over it without a second thought.

“You see his size, and people forget how hard he works,” Sullinger said. “Phil is one of the hardest-working people I know. Also, with Phil, he wants to be the best at everything he can do. He never gives his second-best effort.”

Pressey’s father, Paul, spent 11 seasons in the NBA, and when it was finally time to hang up his sneakers, he turned to coaching. Paul Pressey coached with seven different teams across a 24-year career in the industry, including a stint in Boston from 2004 to 2006. It’s why Phil played high school ball in Waltham and Ashburnham before heading to Texas ahead of his junior season.

As Phil worked his way up the food chain from high school to college ball at Missouri to the NBA and beyond, his work ethic remained consistent.

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Pressey went undrafted in 2013 and signed a three-year deal with Boston after playing for their Summer League squad. From the jump, he mirrored the tireless commitment to improvement teams expect from the same end-of-the-bench players he coaches today.

While players like Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, and Avery Bradley got the first crack at the courts post-practice, Pressey and the other rookies were left waiting. As soon as an opening presented itself, he jumped at the opportunity.

“We’re in this practice facility, and we don’t get a chance to get on the court at all,” said Micah Shrewsberry, an assistant in Boston from 2013 to 2019. “So, practice has been over forever. Now, one of the main baskets open and, [it was like], ‘All right, hey, Phil, and Kelly [Olynyk], and Dwight [Powell], let’s run out here and get some shots up.’”

And when Pressey, Olynyk, and Powell got on the court, their confidence spilled out.

“They were so confident in their abilities that I think some of their goals were so unrealistic,” Shrewsberry said with a laugh. “So, we’d be out there forever. They’d be like, ‘Man, let’s make 10 out of 11 from five spots,’ like doing some drill, and we just, there’d be days where we would be out there a lot longer than we should have been just because they’d put these crazy numbers up. But they believed that they could do it.

“And I was like, ‘[If] you guys can do it, [then] let’s do it.’ Giving them that faith that I had faith in them to do it. But sometimes that turned into some long shooting sessions.”

Pressey’s constant drive to improve parlayed into a three-year NBA career and an even lengthier stint overseas. He played international ball from 2017 to 2022, including stops in Spain, Turkey, and Germany.

Photo by Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images

Knowledge comes with experience, but Pressey has always been a student of the game. His father played a part in that, but his innate basketball instincts have been apparent at every level.

“We all knew that Phil was a player’s coach,” Sullinger said. “Not because of his dad, but more so of how he looked at the game. He always saw the game two passes ahead, especially being a point guard. He knew how to control the game.

“He knew when to score, when not to score, when to pass, when not to pass, where guys liked the ball at, angles of where to put the ball at for you to get the advantage. Phil was very — I know a lot of people are going to take this out of context — but he was very Rondo-esque when it came to controlling a basketball game. Especially in his early high school days.”

That mastery has helped him get to where he is today.

“You knew Phil, in his later days, whenever the ball stopped bouncing for him, you knew he was going to be a teacher of the game,” Sullinger said. “Just because, at an early age, he did that with us in our camps. Telling us where to go, what he sees, how to be a better scorer, how he sees the game. Phil has always been that type of person.”

But that only takes someone so far.

Noa Dalzell | CelticsBlog

Great basketball minds exist all throughout the hoops space—front offices, media desks, and coaching rooms alike. But player development, and coaching in general, requires a unique personality.

Nurturing strong relationships is essential, and Pressey’s proficiency in doing so has been the foundation of his identity.

“He’s one of those guys that kind of lights the room up when he comes in,” said Shrewsberry. “He’s got a big smile and such a warm personality. Those are things that stand out. And he and I stayed in contact even when he was gone from the Celtics. When he was playing overseas. Just because, like you said, that’s who he is naturally. He wasn’t trying to keep relationships to help him for some reason. That’s just who he is as a person.”

And it’s more than just being able to hold a conversation. Pressey is uniquely exceptional at building friendships with everyone he interacts with.

“Phil has always been about good relationships,” said Sullinger. “Phil’s always been about connecting with people. Everybody has a different personality. And I think that’s what made him a special point guard was because he recognizes everybody’s different personalities.

“I mean, perfect example: He was really cool with Kris Humphries on our team, and he was really cool with Rondo, and he was really cool with me, and we’re all three different personalities. And it takes a special individual to be able to navigate through these personalities and still be a voice of reasoning.”

Pressey expanded his understanding of the game during his playing career. He connected with people from all different backgrounds, and it led him down the same path as his dad.

Following the conclusion of his playing career in 2022, Pressey turned to the clipboard. He joined his alma mater, the University of Missouri, as a graduate assistant for the 2022-23 season. Once again, his ability to relate to everyone helped him become a favorite amongst the players.

“He is a real laid back down to earth guy,” said Tre Gomillion, who Pressey coached at Missouri. “He is a guy [who is going] to ask you, ‘How’s the fam doing?’ If guys had relationships, he would ask how those were going. Not just asking to say it, but [to] actually care, and it made players feel very open and comfortable being themselves.”

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Pressey moved up the ranks after just one season with the Tigers. He joined the same team that gave him his start in the league, but earning a position at the NBA level requires more than just knowing the right people.

Connections are important, but they only get you so far. Pressey may have earned a chance with the Celtics because of the relationships he formed, but he only created them because of the way he carries himself. And that’s what will keep propelling him forward.

“The connections probably got him a chance to be in position to get the job, right? Like, maybe got his name in front of the right people. But you still have to go get it,” said Shrewsberry. “You still got to earn it. And then you still got to keep it. Just because you have a connection and you get there, [if] you’re not any good, you’re not going to stick. You’re not going to stay.

“A guy like Phil, if he wasn’t as good of a person as he was while he was a player, then nobody’s probably talking about him coming back and being a part of the staff. He left a great impression on a lot of the people here with who he was, how he worked, and everything else.”

From his playing experience to the warmth with which he forms genuine bonds, Pressey is back with the Celtics for a reason. And if he continues down this path, he could be in Boston for a very long time.

“His personality, his ability to communicate, being a point guard,” said Shrewsberry. “You got to have that ability to communicate, and I think that’s helping him really instruct certain guys and tell them what they need to do to be successful.

“So, his personality fits his role, and I think I can see his role growing even more and becoming a more integral part of the staff as the years keep going on.”