New NBA champion coach Mazzulla uses historic season to point to Christ, walk in his footsteps
Boston Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla used the biggest accomplishment of his professional career to point not to himself, but his Christian faith.
Monday night, as the Boston Celtics clinched…
Boston Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla used the biggest accomplishment of his professional career to point not to himself, but his Christian faith.
Monday night, as the Boston Celtics clinched the team’s historic 18th championship in franchise history – and Mazzulla’s first – players and staff alike donned the championship “swag,” including t-shirts and hats, that every professional athlete hopes to wear at some point in their career.
But Mazzulla bucked the trend by wearing a simple black shirt with white letters and a simple message:
“But first … let me thank God.”
Mazzulla, a devout Catholic, has never shied away his sharing his faith. Throughout his meteoric rise to success, Mazzulla has continually deferred praise and attention to God.
As the Celtics clinched a spot in the NBA Finals, Mazzulla was asked why he feels it’s the “right time” for the team. “It’s just where God has us right now,” he responded
Following the Celtics’ game one victory in the Finals, Mazzulla was asked how he felt about being part of the first championship matchup between two black head coaches since 1975.
“I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?” Mazzulla answered, as he looked around at the reporters, who fell silent.
Then, prior to game three a reporter asked how the 35-year-old has leaned on his faith as a coach.
Mazzulla said his faith is the anchor and “most important thing” in his life.
“I think the ability to handle the ebbs and flows, the humility to understand that there’s a plan that’s much bigger than just who you are individually and have an impact on other people, and then using the gifts that God has given you to try to impact those people,” he answered.
Prayer is a big part of Mazzulla’s pre-game routine and regular life, and he carries a rosary made from the original floor of the team’s home court, the Boston Garden, he revealed in a recent NBC docuseries.
“I like to do a prayer walk around the court at the Garden,” the coach said. “I like to be in the Garden when there’s not a lot of people there, just because it’s the Garden. So I get there at like 11:00, 12:00, do a 20-minute walk around the court and just kind of take in how cold it is. I love that, the smell of it, just the banners obviously, taking all that in.”
Last month, the head coach told NBC that if Boston won the championship this year, they would go to Jerusalem in lieu of a trip to Disney World to celebrate.
“Most people go to Disney World or whatever but … I think [the Holy Land is] the most important place to go back and recenter yourself,” said Mazzulla, adding that the team “went last year and we stopped right along this mountain side of the Kidron Valley and you could see a path in between the mountains.
“The only way that [Jesus] could have gotten from Jericho to Jerusalem was through this valley. And right there I was like, ‘We have to walk that.’”
Mazzulla’s team was widely regarded as the best team in the league for most of the season, though many analysts believed it was due to the Celtics’ feasting on the inferior Eastern Conference. The Celtics quickly ended that narrative in the Finals, making short work of the Dallas Mavericks by dispatching the Western Conference Champions in a gentleman’s sweep (4-1).
