Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics yells whereas lifting the Larry O’ Brien Championship Trophy after Boston’s 106-88 win in opposition to the Dallas Mavericks in Sport 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Backyard on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Elsa/Getty Photographs/AFP
Joe Mazzulla has been referred to as bizarre. He’s been referred to as a sicko. He’s been referred to as loopy.
These feedback weren’t coming from critics or haters directing nameless insults towards the NBA coach of the Boston Celtics. They got here publicly from his personal gamers who, by all accounts, completely adore him. And they’re meant with all doable respect, particularly now that these gamers — and everybody else — should name Mazzulla one thing else.
A champion.
A 35-year-old whose solely head teaching expertise earlier than taking up the Celtics within the fall of 2022 was on the NCAA Division II degree is now the chief of the very best workforce within the NBA world. Boston wrapped up the NBA title on Monday night time, beating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to complete off a five-game roll by the finals and safe the workforce’s file 18th championship.
“There’s nothing higher than representing the Celtics,” Mazzulla stated, “and being a part of historical past.”
READ: Celtics rout Mavericks to win file 18th NBA championship
The Boston Celtics increase the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the 18th time in franchise historical past! ☘️🏆 pic.twitter.com/nULYcvV2oK
— NBA (@NBA) June 18, 2024
Together with playoffs, Mazzulla’s file is now 148-54 — a .729 profitable proportion. Amongst all coaches with at the least 200 video games within the NBA, no person has a greater file than that.
And when it was over, sure, the famously stoic Mazzulla smiled.
“The factor you simply can’t take with no consideration within the recreation at present is a coach’s biggest present is a gaggle of men that wish to be coached, wish to be led, that additionally empower themselves,” Mazzulla stated earlier within the collection. “So, I feel on the finish of the day, simply recognize the truth that we now have an surroundings the place studying and training is necessary, and getting higher and growing is necessary. You’ll be able to’t be a superb coach in case your gamers don’t allow you to.”
He’s the thirty seventh coach in NBA historical past to win a title and the seventh to take action from the Celtics’ bench, becoming a member of Purple Auerbach, Invoice Russell, Tom Heinsohn, Invoice Fitch, Ok.C. Jones and Doc Rivers.
And there are different names the Celtics name him, too. Like genius, for instance. Mazzulla doesn’t conceal his Christian religion, talks about three of his loves past household being Jesus, espresso and jiu-jitsu, is obsessive about issues like worldwide soccer, and in his spare time leads groups to NBA titles.
“He’s actually himself. He’s like genuine to himself. All of us recognize that,” Celtics guard Payton Pritchard stated. “He’s not making an attempt to be someone he’s not. So, I feel that’s form of just like the sicko aspect of it. He’s totally different, however we respect that. Then the basketball genius, you’ll be able to be taught rather a lot from him as to how he sees the offensive aspect of issues, the play calling, the sport administration, all that. He’s elite in that. I’ve personally realized rather a lot from him, and I feel our complete group has.”
READ: Celtics comply with ‘craziness’ of Mazzulla’s teaching type to NBA Finals
Alex Cora, the supervisor of the Boston Purple Sox, makes no secret that he believes the Celtics are going to be having fun with success for some time. He’s shut with Brad Stevens, the entrance workplace mastermind of the workforce, and has gotten to know Mazzulla considerably nicely since he took over as coach. The respect he has for Mazzulla is evident.
It’s not like Mazzulla struggled in 12 months 1 after being shoved into the job unexpectedly following the scandal that led to the Celtics parting methods with Ime Udoka; the Celtics did make Sport 7 of the Jap Convention finals final season. Cora simply thinks issues had been extra suited to Mazzulla’s wants in 12 months 2, equivalent to bringing in assistants like Charles Lee (the following coach of the Charlotte Hornets) and Sam Cassell.
“I do consider that with every thing that they went by, with the pinnacle teaching a part of it, and Joe final yr being the pinnacle coach however not having his employees, I feel it was form of like an impediment for him,” Cora instructed reporters earlier than a Purple Sox recreation final week. “However he received the suitable folks, they received the suitable coach.”
Mazzulla’s path to the NBA mountaintop may simply be described as non-traditional, and never only for the circumstances underneath which he received the job as Udoka’s alternative.
Mazzulla’s solely earlier expertise as a head coach earlier than taking up the Celtics was a two-year stint at Fairmont State in West Virginia, the place he went 43-17 and made the NCAA Match in his second season. A local New Englander from Rhode Island, Mazzulla performed at West Virginia, was an assistant for the Celtics’ G League workforce earlier than taking up at Fairmont State, after which received employed by the Celtics once more in June 2019 to be a part of Stevens’ teaching employees.
They’re rather a lot alike, Mazzulla and Stevens. They don’t waste phrases. They don’t search the highlight. Asking them a query about themselves is nearly actually not going to get any kind of peel-back-the-curtain reply. It’s not about them. It’s nearly wins.
“When Joe gained coach of the month, I used to be like, ‘Hey, congratulations,’” Celtics guard Derrick White stated. “And he simply checked out me and stated, ‘No person cares.’”
The closest Mazzulla seemingly got here to getting a head-coaching gig within the NBA earlier than getting promoted by Boston was in 2022, when he interviewed with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz employed Will Hardy, and Mazzulla stated they made the suitable determination. However when he regarded again at that course of, Mazzulla hated one a part of his interview.
He wore a go well with. “They’re ineffective,” he stated.
To be clear, that wasn’t the place Mazzulla thinks he blew that interview. The Jazz requested him a reasonably commonplace query. Paraphrasing, they wished to understand how Mazzulla, as a younger coach — really youthful than some NBA gamers — felt he was prepared to steer a workforce.
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He didn’t have an excellent reply. However now, no person must ask him that query once more. Mazzulla answered it Monday night time as soon as and for all. He can lead a workforce to the highest of the NBA world. The Celtics’ 18th banner can be raised this fall, and that’s greater than sufficient for him.
“You get only a few probabilities in life to be nice and also you get only a few probabilities in life to hold on the possession and the accountability of what these banners are, and all the good folks, all the good gamers that got here right here,” Mazzulla stated. “When you could have few probabilities in life, you simply must take the bull by the horns and also you’ve received to only personal it. And our guys owned it.”
