WALTHAM, Mass. -- If there's such thing as a negative to being viewed as maybe the best defensive player at your position in the NBA, it's that sometimes you get typecast.

Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley elevated to the All-Defense first team last season and, after being the top vote-getter at the guard position in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting, has already suggested he deserves annual consideration for the league's top defensive honor. But on his list of individual goals, that honor is maybe only superseded by one objective.

"I want people to see me as a two-way player," said Bradley. "A defensive player and an offensive player."

Despite averaging a career-best 15.2 points per game last season, Bradley has typically been viewed as a limited offensive player, living off spot-up shooting and cuts. Former Celtics coach Doc Rivers flirted with the idea of Bradley as a backup ball handler early in his NBA career, but often abandoned those plans when the offense struggled with Bradley at the helm. For his career, Bradley has averaged a mere 1.6 assists per game.

This past summer, Bradley huddled with famed basketball trainer Tim Grover with the goal of increasing his offensive Rolodex, particularly in terms of becoming a better playmaker. After displaying a stronger handle last season, Bradley wants to improve as a passer and learn new ways to generate opportunities for his teammates.

Will Avery Bradley show a new dimension to his offensive game this season? Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

The results have shown during the first two games of Boston's exhibition slate. Bradley is averaging a team-best 5.5 assists per game while playing fewer than 23 minutes per game. This is no small feat when you consider that only six times in Bradley's entire six-year NBA career has he even reached six assists in a regular-season game.

Even a newcomer like Al Horford -- the beneficiary of Bradley's preseason helpers -- has been surprised by his ability to create.

"He's a really good passer," said Horford. "You get so caught up in his defense, and how great he is defensively, that you lose sight of some of the things that he can do on the offensive end."

Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he typically gives players two or three things to focus on each summer, as well as a statistical breakdown that might help hammer home the need for such improvements, but noted that he rarely has to prod Bradley to improve his game.

"Guys like Avery have been in the league long enough that he knows. He's got a good idea of what he wants to do in the offseason -- to work on and continue to improve," said Stevens. "He’s improved every year. And, thus far, has had a good start. Obviously, we’re two exhibition games in, but I think that Avery’s first two weeks have been really good."

Bradley said each summer he makes it a goal to find a new way to expand his game.

"At first it was defense; then it was improving my shot; now I think I need to add something else, and that’s what it is -- involving my teammates," said Bradley. "I think it can help my team out a lot and help me out a lot.

"I challenged myself this summer. Working on ballhandling, working on decision-making, working on [isolation] moves," said Bradley. "Just trying to improve every single year. That’s my goal."

Bradley said he enjoyed his time with Grover -- Michael Jordan's trainer -- and said they focused on quick moves, footwork and utilizing Bradley's quickness to generate opportunities to distribute. What we've seen early in camp is a confident Bradley attacking pick-and-rolls and finding open shots for teammates.

But maybe the biggest difference is watching Bradley come off a pin-down. He admits he used to catch the ball with the thought of going up with a shot. Now he's not afraid to put the ball on the floor and examine his options.

"I think the thing that helps you get to the next level is being able to affect the game in different ways," said Bradley. "And that’s me getting my teammates shots instead of me just coming off pin-downs. Me coming off a pin-down and creating a shot for somebody else, I think that’s the next step for me.

"And pick-and-roll, just gaining Brad’s trust in me to make the right decisions. Like I said, that’s what I worked on this summer. The rest of the preseason games, I’m going to keep showing that, how I worked on it. And gain Brad’s trust, so maybe when the regular season starts, he can give me a chance to start making decisions out there."

Fellow backcourt star Isaiah Thomas sees the maturation in Bradley's game.

"He's growing. I mean, he's just become a more complete player," said Thomas. "He's making the right play. It is slowing down for him, it seems like. When he comes off pick-and-rolls, he's not going so fast. He's slowing down and really looking for all his options. He's making the right play, and you can tell he's improved in a lot of areas. Not just scoring or defense, which he's great at, but making plays for others."

Bradley is Boston's longest-tenured player and the only player on the current roster who predates the Stevens era. Yet he's only 25 and believes his prime years are in front of him. He's entering Year 3 of a four-year, $32 million contract that he signed in July 2014.

Bradley is proud of his annual strides. While Thomas and Horford are the obvious focal points of the team -- and the two likely All-Star candidates -- Bradley quietly believes he can emerge as the sort of two-way player who deserves consideration. For now, he's simply enjoying seeing his offseason work translate on the court.

"It’s fun, man," said Bradley. "That’s what the game is supposed to be about: always wanting to get better, be the best you can be. I hold myself to that every single summer, every single year. I’m just trying to improve. I love the game of basketball so much. I have a lot of goals for myself. I want to make sure I compete every single day.

"I know where I want to be, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to get there."