Joe Mazzulla Just Called Coach Of The Year "A Stupid Award"

Joe Mazzulla has been a head coach in the NBA for just four years, but his resume already has some lofty accomplishments: NBA champion, All-Star head coach, four 50-win seasons and counting.

But when it comes to a certain accolade, it’s a hard pass for Mazzulla, thank you very much.

Ahead of the Celtics’ Monday night matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, the 37-year-old mentor made it clear that he wants nothing to do with the Coach of the Year award. “I don’t need it,” Mazzulla told reporters. “I think it’s a stupid award.”

These are fighting words against an innocent trophy, but Mazzulla has a strong reason behind his badmouthing. “It’s more about the players and the hard work that the staff puts in,” he explained. “I really don’t want to be ever asked or talk about it again. It’s just that dumb. The players play; it’s about them. The staff works their a** off; I’m grateful to have them.”

Mazzulla, of course, has the good fortune of fielding two under-30 players who will figure in the MVP conversation for years to come. While Jayson Tatum was arguably the more celebrated Celtics player over the past several seasons, Jaylen Brown has taken his game to a different level as Tatum went through an arduous recovery period to heal his injured Achilles.

Tatum’s absence was supposed to be the premature death knell for the Celtics’ playoff aspirations in 2026, but Brown and his teammates more than held the fort. The backcourt tandem of Derrick White and Payton Pritchard (the reigning Sixth Man of the Year) has been healthy and prolific, while Neemias Queta and newcomer Nikola Vucevic have capably manned the shaded lane.

There’s no way, of course, that this crew of athletes could have climbed all the way to the no. 2 spot in the East without exceptional leadership from the sidelines. Mazzulla can defer the credit to assistants like Sam Cassell and Tony Dobbins, but ultimately, they follow the lead of a tactician who defeated a Luka Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA title in just his second season as head coach.

The question is, will Mazzulla’s comments dissuade voters for casting their ballots in his favor? Or does his apparent disdain for individual recognition make for a good narrative in this year’s race for Coach of the Year?

If Mazzulla does take home the trophy (which, ironically, is named for the greatest Celtics coach of all time), his comments at the award presentation will definitely be worth a listen.