A torn meniscus didn’t hold back championship-winning head coach Joe Mazzulla from celebrating big.
Despite an injury that will require surgery, Mazzulla was one with the fans at Friday’s parade in Boston, jumping off his duck boat to hype up the millions of people who showed up to honor the champs.
“Joe Mazzulla jumped out the window of his duck boat, ran through the streets hyping everyone up, then somehow jumped back into the duck boat even on a torn meniscus,” Jared Weiss of The Athletic wrote on X, accompanied by a video.
The head 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, according to the Boston Globe.
This behavior isn’t necessarily off-brand.
In the words of Celtics’ guard Derrick White, their coach is “A sicko.”
Among 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.
During the season, Mazzulla’s bosses had to tell him to stop trying to block opposing players’s shots. He also tore his meniscus in March during their loss to the Hawks.
The man is a character, but clearly, he is doing something right.
The 35-year-old brought the Celtics to banner No.18, breaking Bill Russell’s record as 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 only his second season with the organization.
For Mazzulla and most of the Celtics, this was their first championship celebration, and they did not 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.
As the NBA’s youngest coach, Mazzulla clinched a championship while battling a torn meniscus, so let’s give the guy some props.
