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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 back in March after being asked about the possibility of winning it because of the Celtics’ regular season success without some of its stars, including Jayson Tatum, for most of the year.
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Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics watches during the second quarter of Game Five in 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 award winner was announced Tuesday night as Mazzulla helped lead the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record, finishing four games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
But Mazzulla didn’t just call the award silly for its own sake — he thought it should be a “coaching staff of the year” honor instead of one person getting hardware.
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Mazzulla, discussing the honor Tuesday night, told NBC as much.
“The long nights, the trips, the game plans, the video guys cutting up the film and coding it, the assistants putting in the game plan, I think there’s so much that goes into winning a game,” Mazzulla explained. “It starts with the players, but it goes to our staff. I feel bad that they’re not here – but forever thanks 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.”
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) have also received the Red Auerbach Trophy in their careers.
Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla calls the 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 lead the Celtics to nine NBA titles, including eight straight from 1959-66, during his Hall of Fame career.
Mazzulla was able to capture that glory in 2024 as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 4-1, to claim another Larry O’Brien Trophy for Boston’s mantle.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, they were unable to go far in these playoffs despite their stars getting healthy late in the season. They were shockingly bounced 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 would point to his staff, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens praised his fourth-year head coach.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches in the third quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. 12, 2026. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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“This is well-deserved recognition and a testament to both Joe and his staff,” Stevens said. “With all of our unknowns going into the season, Joe did a fantastic job of building and developing a team. He pours everything he has into competing at a high level while helping players find the best versions of themselves within the confines of a team.”
Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff finished second, the same spot he was in after last season, and San Antonio Spurs manager Mitch Johnson finished third.
