Mazzulla named NBA Coach of the Year despite dismissing honor as 'stupid'

Mazzulla named NBA Coach of the Year despite dismissing honor as 'stupid'

Joe Mazzulla has been named the NBA's Coach of the Year, accepting an award he publicly dismissed as "stupid" in March. The Boston Celtics head coach guided the franchise to a 56-26 regular-season record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference - a run completed largely without injured star Jayson Tatum for much of the year. The Red Auerbach Trophy winner was announced Tuesday night.

Mazzulla's earlier dismissal of the award was rooted in principle rather than indifference. Speaking in March, he argued the honor should recognize an entire coaching staff rather than a single individual. "I don't need it. I think it's a stupid award," he said at the time. On Tuesday, accepting the recognition, he returned to that theme, crediting the collective effort behind each victory. "The long nights, the trips, game plans, the video guys that are clipping up the film and coding it, the assistants who are putting in the game plan," Mazzulla said. "I think there's so much that goes into winning one game. I feel bad that they're not here, but forever indebted to the guys that we have that give up time with their families and their time to give us a chance to win every day."

At 37, Mazzulla is the youngest coach to receive the award since Phil Jackson won it in 1975, according to the NBA. He becomes the fourth Celtics coach honored with the Red Auerbach Trophy, joining the award's namesake - who won it in 1965 - along with Tom Heinsohn, who received it in 1973, and Bill Fitch, who won it in 1980. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff finished second in voting, a repeat of his runner-up position from the previous season, while San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson placed third. Boston finished four games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference standings.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens praised Mazzulla's management of a roster navigating significant injury uncertainty throughout the season. "With all of our unknowns entering the season, Joe did a fantastic job building and growing a team," Stevens said. "He pours everything he has into competing at a high level, while helping players find the best versions of themselves within the framework of a team." The individual recognition comes amid a difficult postseason exit, however - Boston was eliminated in the first round of the 2026 playoffs after losing Game 7 to the Philadelphia 76ers, a result that marks a sharp contrast to Mazzulla's 2024 NBA championship, when the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks four games to one.