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Joe Mazzulla Wins Boston's First Coach Of The Year Award Since Bill Fitch originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was named the winner of the NBA Coach of the Year award, ESPN's Shams Charania reported late Tuesday night.
Although Mazzulla's Celtics were unable to come through in the playoffs, the fourth-year head coach led his team to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference without its best player.
Mazzulla released a statement after winning the award.
"Thank you to the Lord for the platform he has given me, and to my wife and family who support me on this journey,” said Mazzulla. "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. 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."
Mazzulla is the first Celtics bench boss to win the award since the legendary Bill Fitch in 1980. It is worth noting that Fitch won the NBA Championship the following season.
The immense amount of credit that Mazzulla was given for turning this year's Celtics into a top-end team was drowned out after they shockingly blew a 3-1 lead in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. But enough time has passed to once again appreciate the position that Mazzulla's staff put the Celtics in this season.
The team was forced to move on from three All-Stars -- Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford -- and construct a championship-contending roster without Jayson Tatum. They also did so while getting underneath the first apron and reducing luxury tax penalties, positioning the squad perfectly to make a push in the 2026-27 season.
A year that was perceived as a punt turned into a 56-26 regular season that had fans buy in before a playoff push.
Make no mistake about it. Joe Mazzulla is the best coach in the NBA.
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