Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla’s humility shines with classy Coach of the Year claim

On Tuesday night, prior to Game 5 of the the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs’ heated Western Conference Finals clash, the NBA announced that it was Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla who won the 2026 NBA Coach of the Year award. Mazzulla steered the Celtics to a 56-win season despite facing significant roster turnover amid Jayson Tatum’s recovery from a ruptured Achilles — shattering all expectations in the process.

Mazzulla, however, knows that keeping the Celtics not just afloat, but thriving, amidst all the adversity and change they navigated wasn’t a one-man job. The NBA Showtime crew on NBC interviewed Mazzulla, which gave the Celtics head coach an opportunity to credit his entire coaching staff for a brilliant regular season.

“I think a lot of times, the long nights, the trips, the game plans, the video guys that are cooking up the film and coding it and the assistants who are putting the gameplan [together], I think there’s just so much that goes into winning one game.”

“It starts with the players, but [credit] goes to our staff. I feel bad that they’re not here but [I’m] forever indebted to the guys that we have that give up their time with their families to give us a chance to win everyday,” Mazzulla said.

Joe Mazzulla believes his Coach of the Year award should go to the entire Celtics coaching staff. pic.twitter.com/TDAhGon2HT

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 27, 2026

It indeed takes a village to build a winning organization. The Celtics may see their cast of players around Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White rotate, but the stability behind the scenes that starts from the top enables them to remain competitive year-in, year-out.

Mazzulla has always emphasized the importance of unselfishness and playing for one another, and the Celtics have built this winning culture of theirs upon those concepts. There’s no surprise that he wants to attribute his success to the cast of individuals who help him become the best version of himself.

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