The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are two teams that are vying for important playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

So one would think that in advance of Thursday's game between the two teams, which the Celtics won, some of the players and coaches would be trying to gain any sort of mental edge over the other.

But Sixers center Amir Johnson had nothing but positive things to say about Celtics head coach Brad Stevens before the game, per Scott Souza of Gatehouse Media.

Stevens regularly receives praise from his own players and those around the league. To see that an opposing player has this much praise for a coach seems odd, right?

Actually, not really. Amir Johnson played for the Celtics from 2015-2017, right around the time Brad Stevens first arrived on the scene in Boston.

So Johnson has intimate knowledge of just how good a coach Stevens is, and an even deeper insight on how impactful of a leader he is to his players.

The Celtics have played themselves into an 19-4 record this season — the best in the NBA — despite having to incorporate a star player in Kyrie Irving and losing Gordon Hayward to a leg injury in the first game of the year.

Brad Stevens is known around the NBA for getting the most out of his players, and this season is just another example of that. Johnson pointing that out, at this point, is almost like saying water is wet.