Joe Mazzulla led his Boston Celtics to the NBA championship in just his second season as the head coach of the franchise. The Celtics took game five against the Dallas Mavericks Monday night, 106-88.
At just 35 years of age, Mazzulla is actually younger than many players in the league. He is the youngest coach to win the title since Bill Russell in 1969.
“You get very few chances in life to be great,” Mazzulla said following the game. “And you get very few chances in life to carry on the ownership and the responsibilities of what these banners are and all the great people and great players that came here.”
“When you have few chances in life, you just got to take the bull by the horns and you got to just own it.”
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Joe Mazzulla ‘Man Of God’
During the Finals-clinching game, fans of Coach Joe Mazzulla were celebrating his faith on social media, with one user as the game was ending writing that “this great man of God” was going to take home the trophy.
What are his comments based on? Mazzulla is an unabashedly devout Catholic.
“If we win the championship this year, we’re flying to Jerusalem and we’re walking from Jericho to Jerusalem,” Mazzulla said in an NBC Sports program in May.
He was referencing a path traveled by Jesus.
“Most people go to Disney World or whatever but … I think [the Holy Land is] the most important place to go back and recenter yourself,” he said.
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Times Mazzulla Stunned Reporters With His Faith
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla makes his faith clear even when addressing a normally abrasive media. Here are a few examples of him proclaiming his faith with humor and candor.
When asked to comment on the fact that the NBA Finals featured two black coaches, Mazzulla instead wondered if the focus should be on their faith as opposed to their skin color.
“Given the plight sometimes of black head coaches in the NBA, do you think this is a significant moment? Do you take pride in this? How do you view this, or do you not see it at all?” a reporter asked.
Mazzulla replied, “I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches.”
Sports media member asks Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla about the significance of there being two black head coaches in the NBA Finals. Mazzulla responds by asking the reporter how many of those coaches have been Christians. Listen to this silence: pic.twitter.com/InDCR3pz3b
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 9, 2024
The silence, as they say, is golden.
In another viral moment, Joe Mazzulla answered a question about the royal family taking in a Celtics game by saying he only knows of one royal family, and that’s “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph”.
Perhaps his most memorable moment in sharing his faith was a story he told about three young women who inspired the coach. Those women were dying of cancer and he drew inspiration from how they carried themselves and celebrated life.
A reporter had asked during the 2023 playoffs how Mazzulla was coping with being down 0-3 in the series (the Celtics fight back hard but eventually fell in game 7).
“I met three girls under the age of 21 with terminal cancer,” he told reporters. “I thought I was helping them by talking to them, and they were helping me.”
“And so, having an understanding about what life is really all about. And watching a girl dying and smiling and enjoying her life, that’s what it’s really all about. Having that faith and understanding,” he concluded.
Joe Mazzulla delivers a powerful message ahead of Game 5 when asked about the C's win-or-die mentality
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) May 25, 2023
Mazzulla mentioned he met 3 young women with terminal cancer which helped his perspective
"You always hear people give glory to God and say thank you when they're holding a… pic.twitter.com/MCK9xhjAqu
Mazzulla was an NCAA Division II level coach just two years ago. Now, he’s riding his basketball knowledge and faith to unheard-of heights in the NBA.
Will he and the Celtics repeat next season?
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