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Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla called the Coach of the Year award “stupid.”
Now he has won it.
“I don’t need it. I think it’s a stupid award,” Mazzulla said in March after being asked about winning it because of the Celtics’ regular-season success without some of their stars, including Jayson Tatum, for most of the year.
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Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics watches the second quarter of Game 5 of the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on April 28, 2026. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The winner of the award was announced Tuesday night, as Mazzulla helped lead the Celtics to second place in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record, finishing four games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
But Mazzulla wasn’t just calling the award stupid — he thought it should be a “coaching team of the year” honor rather than someone receiving hardware.
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Mazzulla, discussing the honor Tuesday night, told NBC.
“The long nights, the travel, the game plans, the videographers cutting the film and coding it, the assistants coming up with the game plan, I think there’s so much that goes into winning a game,” Mazzulla said. “It starts with the players, but it goes to our staff. I feel bad that they’re not here, but I’m forever indebted to the guys we have who give up time with their families and their time to give us a chance to win every day.”
Mazzulla is the fourth Celtics coach to win the award, which is named after the legendary Red Auerbach, who won it in 1965. Tom Heinsohn (1973) and Bill Fitch (1980) also received the Red Auerbach Trophy during their careers.
Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla calls out players during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks in Boston on June 6, 2024. (Charles Krupa/AP)
Auerbach helped the Celtics win nine NBA titles, including eight straight from 1959 to 1966, during his Hall of Fame career.
Mazzulla managed to achieve that glory in 2024, as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 4-1, to win another Larry O’Brien Trophy for Boston’s title.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, they were unable to go far in these playoffs despite the good health of their stars at the end of the season. They were shocked in the first round after losing Game 7 to the Philadelphia 76ers.
But Mazzulla, 37, is now the youngest head coach to receive the coach of the year award since the legendary Phil Jackson won it in 1975, according to the NBA.
While Mazzulla wanted to point the finger at his team, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens praised his fourth-year head coach.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches the third quarter of the game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 12, 2026. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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“This is a well-deserved recognition and tribute to Joe and his team,” Stevens said. “With all of our unknowns going into the season, Joe has done a fantastic job building and developing a team. He puts everything he has into competing at a high level, while helping players find the best versions of themselves on a team.”
Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff finished in second place, the same place he found himself after last season, and San Antonio Spurs leader Mitch Johnson finished in third place.
