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With the Boston Celtics winning the 2024 NBA title, their head coach Joe Mazzulla has been speaking with the media more than ever, giving basketball fans across the country their first real taste of the 35-year-old.
At the start of the NBA Finals, for example, NBA fans had their minds’ blown by Mazzulla’s “Rain Man”-like ability to recall specific plays from memory.
Appearing on the Pardon My Take podcast after the Celtics’ Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks to clinch the NBA Final, Mazzulla told a story about training so hard after a loss that he tore his meniscus in his knee, which was he says was ultimately a “great” experience.
The reaction to Mazzulla’s story was best summed up by this viral tweet that said he’s “not a real person.”
There’s no way Joe Mazzulla is a real person😭 pic.twitter.com/ASBoH3ouuK
— j (@lockedupjb) June 20, 2024
“That’s what happens when you lose games in the regular season. After we lost to Atlanta, I went on the mats and punished myself and pounded my body until I couldn’t take anymore, and ended up tearing up my knee,” the former West Virginia University guard explained.
“It was a great experience for me, I had to do six hours of treatment to coach the next game without too much of a limp. I couldn’t walk.”
Mazzulla’s says he appreciated the experience because it put him in a state of “fight or flight”, bringing him more “focus” as a coach.
“It put me in this fight or flight mentality because I couldn’t relax. I had to constantly train, get physical therapy, and it was just awesome. I was thinking about maybe getting hurt every All-Star break,” he joked.
“It brought a different level of focus that I had to have. I had to walk slower, I couldn’t move certain ways. So it forced me to focus more and I’m grateful that it happened. I miss the mats though.”
Mazzulla led the Celtics to their NBA-leading 18th NBA championship in just his second season as a head coach and will enter his third season later this year as the betting favorites to repeat.
In two seasons as the C’s head coach, Mazzulla has put together a record of 148-55, which is nearly a 73% winning percentage