A torn meniscus didn’t hold back championship-winning head coach Joe Mazzulla from celebrating big.
Despite an injury that may require surgery, Mazzulla was one with the fans at Friday’s parade in Boston, jumping off his duck boat to hype up the thousands and thousands of people that showed as much as honor the champs.
“Joe Mazzulla jumped out the window of his duck boat, ran through the streets hyping everyone up, then by some means jumped back into the duck boat even on a torn meniscus,” Jared Weiss of The Athletic wrote on X, accompanied by a video.
The top coach was also caught on video Wednesday night walking around Boston with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in hand, allowing fans to admire and touch the hardware, in response to the Boston Globe.
This behavior isn’t necessarily off-brand.
Within the words of Celtics’ guard Derrick White, their coach is “A sicko.”
Amongst many other unconventional practices, Mazzulla incorporates jiu-jitsu, MMA and soccer into his coaching.
Before Game 3 of the NBA Finals, he showed his players a UFC light heavyweight championship fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill.
Throughout the season, Mazzulla’s bosses had to inform him to stop attempting to block opposing players’s shots. He also tore his meniscus in March during their loss to the Hawks.
The person is a personality, but clearly, he’s doing something right.
The 35-year-old brought the Celtics to banner No.18, breaking Bill Russell’s record because the youngest coach ever to win an NBA title.
Mazzulla joined the Celtics as an assistant coach in 2019 and was named interim head coach before the 2022–23 season.
He became the official head coach in February 2023 and led the Celtics to a league-best of 64 wins and an NBA championship in just his second season with the organization.
For Mazzulla and many of the Celtics, this was their first championship celebration, they usually didn’t disappoint Boston fans with their festivities on Friday.
Mazzulla’s son also joined the celebration, following in his dad’s footsteps and busting out dance moves.
Because the NBA’s youngest coach, Mazzulla clinched a championship while battling a torn meniscus, so let’s give the guy some props.
