{"id":886,"date":"2026-05-27T08:34:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=886"},"modified":"2026-05-27T08:34:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:34:04","slug":"joe-mazzulla-wins-coach-of-the-year-after-guiding-celtics-to-no-2-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=886","title":{"rendered":"Joe Mazzulla wins Coach of the Year after guiding Celtics to No. 2 seed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Joe Mazzulla has won the award he recently declared “stupid.”<\/p>\n

The Boston Celtics head coach was named the 2025-26 NBA Coach of the Year on Tuesday, beating out finalists J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons) and Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs) for the honor.<\/p>\n

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Mazzulla is just the fourth head coach in Celtics history to win Coach of the Year, joining franchise legends Bill Fitch (1980), Tommy Heinsohn (1973) and Red Auerbach (1965), for whom the trophy is now named.<\/p>\n

That’s elite company, as those other three names are Hall of Famers. Don’t expect Mazzulla to take a victory lap, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need it,\u201d Mazzulla said in late March when asked about potentially winning Coach of the Year. \u201cI think it\u2019s a stupid award. They shouldn\u2019t have it. And it\u2019s more about the players. It\u2019s more about the work that the staff puts in. It\u2019s just that simple.<\/p>\n

“I really don\u2019t ever want to be asked or talk about it again. It\u2019s just that dumb. So, the players play. It\u2019s about them. Staff works their ass off. I\u2019m grateful to have them.”<\/p>\n

He credited the players and staff again in his statement after winning the award:<\/p>\n

“Thank you to the Lord for the platform he has given me, and to my wife and family who supported me on this journey,” Mazzulla said. “Thank you to our players who compete and give it everything they have each night. I am grateful for every member of the Celtics organization whose dedication impacts winning every day.<\/p>\n

“This award belongs to our staff, who are there for the guys every day. Their relentless work ethic improves our team daily. This award should be named Staff of the Year.”<\/p>\n

Read more Thunder top Spurs 127-114 and are a win away from a return to NBA Finals<\/a><\/p>\n

Mazzulla can downplay the award all he wants, but it’s still a well-deserved honor. The Celtics lost four key rotation players last offseason — Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet — and didn’t have Jayson Tatum until early March, yet still surged to a 56-26 record (well above their preseason projected win total of 41.5) and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. <\/p>\n

Eight Celtics players set career highs in at least four stat categories this season under Mazzulla, including Jaylen Brown, who blossomed into an MVP candidate, and big man Neemias Queta, who finished fourth in the NBA’s Most Improved Player voting.<\/p>\n

Of course, the timing of Mazzulla’s honor isn’t ideal, as his Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers en route to a shocking first-round playoff exit. The fourth-year head coach took plenty of criticism in the following days for his bold starting lineup choice in the deciding Game 7, while the team’s reliance on 3-pointers has come under fire, as well.<\/p>\n

But Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens gave Mazzulla and his staff an endorsement while vowing to improve the roster this offseason.<\/p>\n

“I think they’re very good, and we need to continue to provide them the resources to grow and get better and continue to be the best that we can be,” Stevens said of Mazzulla’s staff.<\/p>\n

Mazzulla has already built an impressive resume in Boston, winning 72.6 percent of his regular-season games — the highest among head coaches in NBA history <\/em>— while delivering an NBA title in 2024.<\/p>\n

Mazzulla isn’t one to rest on his laurels, however, and he’ll be firmly focused on lifting the Celtics back to contender status next season.<\/p>\n

Read more The Trump Administration<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Mazzulla has won Coach of the Year for the 2025-26 season after leading the Celtics to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boston-celtics"],"yoast_head":"\nJoe Mazzulla wins Coach of the Year after guiding Celtics to No. 2 seed - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=886\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joe Mazzulla wins Coach of the Year after guiding Celtics to No. 2 seed - 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