[1] Ainge attended Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona, where he averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists as a senior.
Ainge had a successful basketball career at Brigham Young University[2] where, as a two-time team captain, he led the school to two Mountain West Conference championships, three NCAA tournaments and one NIT appearance.
On July 21, 2009, he was named the first head coach of the Maine Red Claws, an expansion team in the NBA Development League.
As a part of this position, he worked with Celtics rookies J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker while they were on assignment with the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League.
[5] Prior to joining the Celtics front office staff, Ainge served a stint as an assistant coach for Southern Utah University, where he was responsible for perimeter players, recruiting, player development, video breakdown, and developing game plans.