Detail obsession isn’t unique among coaches. It simply takes on unique forms.

Brad Stevens is Evan Turner’s fourth NBA coach, following Indiana’s Frank Vogel and Philadelphia’s Brett Brown and Doug Collins. In the obsession department, the Celtics coach has nothing on the rest. He’s just different.

“Once you get to this level and you’re a coach, I think everybody reads the crazy coaching books. John Wooden and all of those guys,” Turner said. “The big thing is preparation. Brett Brown was crazy about details, preparing like an animal, and it was the same thing with Doug. Brett wakes up and it’s like, ‘C’mon mate, it’s going to be a great day.’ Brad is really poised.”

Stevens also possesses that vital second step. He has mostly sold his ideas to a group known for its cynicism — modern professional athletes. Well-traveled veterans like Kris Humphries, Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Wallace all bought in last season. Keith Bogans and Courtney Lee didn’t and were gone by February (Bogans physically if not monetarily).

So Stevens also has that third step — clout.

“He told us the first day of practice that we’re going to work efficiently, we’re not going to waste our time,” Turner said. “We’re not going to do things that don’t matter. I’m not going to have you out on the floor for 31⁄2 hours. That’s his philosophy. He preaches to do what you do, and let’s work together at it. He really believes in building a game plan and seeing it through.”

Turner, anxious to find an NBA home, was a believer. But belief seems to be common on this young, rebuilding Celtics team.

All in the details

Brandon Bass recently said that, perhaps for the first time, a coach has helped him to think differently about the game.

“Absolutely. He gets everybody to think the game differently,” Bass said. “The way he coaches, he puts you in a position to expand your game, to be more skilled, to be more successful.

“He’s very detailed, and those are the things that separate you from the pack. He’s more detailed than other coaches. Stan Van Gundy is another coach who is very detailed, but very different, oh my God.”

Told of Bass’ comments, Stevens paused. For the first time in nine NBA seasons, Bass is developing a 3-point shot. He credits a summer conversation with Stevens for pushing him into action.

“I do think guys get pigeonholed in this league,” Stevens said. “Probably in any walk of life, people say what you can’t do, and they harp on it until it feels like a reality, and it feels more overwhelming than what you can do. I do choose to look at the positive side of it and say they’re in the league for a reason. What can we do with that? It’s OK to change your lens and look at something and figure out if you can’t see it another way. It may not be. But at the same time, you don’t always have to look at it the same way everyone else does.”

Bass is only one example of a player who has seen the light after a year under Stevens’ relentlessly upbeat coaching style. Rajon Rondo has called Stevens the “most positive coach I’ve ever had in my career.” Similar responses have come from Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk.

Stevens admittedly wondered last year about the challenge of winning over NBA players. Without their support, of course, no coach lasts.

“It’s interesting. What I’ve learned about myself is how important the relationship is when you coach somebody,” Stevens said. “I didn’t feel like I could show up with my name tag saying ‘coach,’ and those guys would automatically believe every word I say or think it’s something that’s seamless. It’s just not.

“I really felt they were great to coach (last year), easy to coach and together, very supportive of us. At the same time, I see it at a different level this year because we’re all more comfortable. When I say something that may not have been traditional lingo with the teams they were on and the coaches they had, now it makes sense.”

That doesn’t mean everyone follows silently. Wallace, the 32-year-old veteran who has always spoken his mind, was asked by Stevens to calm down after the forward teed off on his new team a little too often early last season.

As Wallace’s body has gone into decline, he’s been asked to take a more diminished on-court role this season, with an emphasis on mentoring the youngsters. Wallace claims that good friend Jeff Green is now his project.

He also notices a difference in his coach.

“It’s his intensity and the focus he’s bringing to the game,” Wallace said. “It’s the information he’s bringing to the table. In this world, if you want to motivate people and get them to buy into what you’re saying, it’s connected to how much you believe in what you’re saying. Everybody here understands that he’s 100 percent behind his word. Everything he does, he’s into it 100 percent.”

Rondo key component

One of Stevens’ first actions as Celtics coach in the summer of 2013 was to fly from the Orlando Summer League to Louisville, Ky., where he addressed the crowd at Rondo’s summer camp and huddled with his star player.

Trade and free agent speculation aside, Rondo remains Stevens’ most important player. The coach, who had many players into his home during the summer, continues to develop this relationship.

“It’s easier to coach a guy like Rajon Rondo when you get to know him,” Stevens said. “That takes some time for me, and I’ve learned a lot about myself. I really like to invest in the guys. It’s important. And the more time I can spend with them, the more I can coach them.”

Rondo never is far away. He spent the preseason as a kind of associate coach. He, too, is still gauging his coach.

“He’s more vocal. He knows more about what he wants,” the point guard said. “Last year he was getting a feel for it. Now he’s studied it. He hates to lose. This summer he told me he watched all the games from last year, studied opposing teams, ranked them in all kinds of categories. He had some great stats for us. Now we have all of these analytical guys, and he’s the main one because he’s good with numbers.”

Not even a spreadsheet worthy of MIT’s Sloan Analytics Conference is going to win over a team if a coach doesn’t connect. But asked if he still needs convincing, Rondo was resolute.

“The key for any successful team is for everyone to buy in, and he has everyone believing in his plan,” he said of Stevens. “If we continue to do that, we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

Up to challenge

Perhaps Bass, after nine seasons of ignoring the 3-point line, wanted to be won over last summer. But Stevens also closed the deal as if he were back on the recruiting trail.

“He told me, ‘The coach you had previously is gone. I’m here now, and I want to challenge you now in this way,’ ” Bass said. “That’s how I took it from him. I played on other teams where I was a shooting 4 and I stuck to it. But here, I accepted the challenge he presented to me.

“He absolutely made it acceptable. Just him challenging me, and me being a person who wants to improve, that’s what made him address the situation.”

Bass stepped out of his comfort zone. Stevens loves that part.

“When I was coaching in college, we always had 40-minute individual workouts,” he said. “We used to say 32 minutes should be spent on what we do well, and eight minutes should be spent on a dream time. Where can you go from here?”

For now, the answer might be more dream time.