How Joe Mazzula’s Gratitude Fostered a Winning Culture

ByNBAUSA



BOSTON — Since becoming the head coach Boston Celtics in 2022, Joe Mazzulla has developed a larger-than-life reputation. Whether he’s talking about how he wants to own a wolf that can patrol his yard or making players practice in a simulated war zone with the sounds of explosions and machine gun fire serenading them, he’s certainly not your typical NBA coach.

However, this 37-year-old should be known for more than just his eccentricities. While his “Psycho Joe” persona is genuine, it’s not what really defines him as a coach. rather, his unique gratitude because everyone around him is working.

For the past few games at TD Garden, Mazzulla has appeared at pregame press conferences wearing a “Boston Bull Gang” sweatshirt. Ahead of Wednesday night’s meeting with the Chicago Bulls, he said his outfit was a gift from members of the “Bull Gang” – the workers who move the floor at the Garden to the rink, and vice versa, when the Boston Bruins are scheduled to play next at home.

These employees are probably not considered by many. The garden floor, or ice, is simply there when the fans arrive. There’s no reason to think twice about it.

However, Mazzulla is not like most people.

“It’s an opportunity to appreciate what those guys do,” Macula said of his sweatshirt. “I took my walk before the game there, and when I’m around people, there’s a lot of people who make sure that by the time it’s game time … everything runs smoothly on and off the court. And we’ve had a few games this year where it’s been both (the Bruins and the Celtics are playing), and watching that process is — (I’m) very grateful for that. So, we just thank them for the gift.”

Joe Mazzula’s gratitude extends to the workers, fans and his predecessors

This is far from the first time Macula has shown gratitude to the employees who make Celtics games and practices possible. In fact, the five-time Eastern Conference Coach of the Month even claimed that the aforementioned personnel surpass him in terms of impact.

“The people in the building are actually a lot more important than me because they see the players first,” he said during Celtics Media Day in September. “Whether it’s the kitchen, whether it’s safety, whether it’s medical or strength and conditioning. Those interactions play a huge role in making sure that by the time we get on the field we’re ready to go. So that’s how you build it. It’s empowerment and ownership to understand that everybody plays a role in winning every day. And you every day.”

Although Macula leads one of the most prestigious franchises in the NBA, he remains humble. Not even capturing banner no. 18, 2024 and became the youngest coach to win the NBA Finals since the legendary Bill Russell 1969 inflated his ego.

The first answer he gave to the media after winning the title was about others, not about him.

“Something that really went through my mind throughout this process is you can’t lose sight of the people who came before us,” he said after the Celtics’ championship victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Finals. “I want to make sure that every single person that worked for the Celtics, that played for the Celtics that didn’t win, knows that their work and what they did didn’t go unnoticed.”

To understand Mazzula’s grateful perspective, it is important to note his professional beginnings.

The Rhode Island native coached at Glenville State and Fairmont State — two Division II programs based in small towns in West Virginia — from 2011 to 2016 before joining the Celtics’ old G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, as an assistant for the 2016-17 season.

Macula dreamed of being a head coach in the NBA and was convinced that it would happen one day, he just didn’t think he would. step out of relative anonymity so soon and be fortunate enough to lead the historic franchise he grew up rooting for, according to Andscape’s Mark J. Spears.

“I always believed I would be an NBA head coach,” Spears said in December 2022. “I believed in myself, but I didn’t know it would happen this fast. I didn’t know it would happen in Boston.”

After the exes Celtics coach Ime Udoka was fired from the team due to an improper relationship ahead of the 2022-23 season, Mazzuli has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime by the Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the rest of the senior officers of Boston. He accepted the interim head coaching job and was eventually stripped of that interim title in February 2023, officially becoming the 19th man to lead the C’s.

“When I first got here, the staff, Brad’s coach, the staff they had, the foundation they built with these (players) when they were young, the foundation of what we have, is one of the reasons we’re here today,” Macula said minutes after hoisting the Larry O’Brien championship trophy. “Just because we won this doesn’t mean what people have done before us isn’t as important.”

Why Mazzulla deserves thanks in return

When it comes to taking credit, Mazzulla will always focus on those around him. Whether it’s the chef at the Auerbach Center (the Celtics’ practice facility) or a colleague on his coaching staff, he always prefers to thank others rather than pat himself on the back.

If there ever was one time for Macula to bow out, though, it would be this season. The Celtics are 35-19 overall and in second place in the East heading into the All-Star break. He probably won’t say it, but the young skipper has been an integral part of a successful Celtics team that hasn’t missed a beat despite Star forward Jayson Tatum has been ruled out for every game of the 2025-26 season so far due to injury.

“One thing I really appreciate about Joe, aside from being a great coach, is I really believe he cares about us, our team as individuals, obviously me and the conversations we have,” Tatum said during the 2024 NBA Finals.

With Tatum out indefinitely and multiple starters from last season, many underdogs he expected the Celtics to fail – and probably tank. Instead, they have the fourth-best net rating and fourth-best record in the NBA.

Macula, unsurprisingly, credited the fans for contributing to the Green Team’s winning ways, explaining that their unwavering support and expectation of greatness motivates the Celtics to be better.

“I think that’s what makes the job special is being here, and you always feel like you have a chance because of (the fans),” he told ClutchPoints after a thrilling home win over the Miami Heat in December. “And you have a responsibility to them. So I want to thank you for that.”

Given Mazzula’s constant lifting of others and his appreciation for everyone who is a part of the Celtics experience, perhaps he could shed the nickname “Psycho Joe” and embrace the moniker “Grateful Joe.” Granted, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it seems to say a lot more about who he is as a player coach, as a leader and as a person.





2026-02-13 16:19:00

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