Celtics' Joe Mazzulla Credits Staff After Winning Coach of the Year
The NBA announced on Tuesday that Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla won the 2025-26 Coach of the Year award. Mazzulla earned the accolade for the first time since taking over as head coach in 2023.
In the 2025-26 NBA season, Mazzulla led the Celtics to a 56-26 record, the second-best in the Eastern Conference. Boston was expected to have an underwhelming campaign since the team did not have its best player, Jayson Tatum. Additionally, the team moved on from Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and Jrue Holiday, the veterans who were important in their championship bid in 2024.
However, Mazzulla coached the team well and brought out the best seasons out of Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. Brown finished sixth in the Most Valuable Player voting, and White was named to the All-Defensive first team.
Joe Mazzulla Spoke Highly of His Staff
After Mazzulla received the coaching award, he kept giving credit to the team's staff.
"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 in a statement. "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."
In an interview with the NBA on NBC on Tuesday, Mazzulla continued to advocate for the team that has helped him win.
"There's so much that goes into winning one game," Mazzulla said. "It starts with the players, but it goes to our staff. I feel bad that they're not here, but forever indebted to the guys that we have that give up their time with their families to give us a chance to win every day.
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
"I truly want to thank my staff. I love those guys."
Since becoming a head coach in the NBA, Mazzulla has consistently led the Celtics to the postseason, and he has a .726 regular-season win percentage. Unfortunately for Boston, they did not last in the postseason and were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round after seven games.
Despite the team's early playoff exit, however, the Celtics have no plans to move on from Mazzulla as head coach.
Related: Celtics' Joe Mazzulla Suggests Major Change To NBA's Coach Of The Year Award
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 9:15 PM.