The Boston Celtics made a huge announcement regarding interim coach Joe Mazzulla on Thursday. They are taking the interim tag off and have announced that he is officially their newest head coach.
The 34-year-old Mazzulla becomes the 19th head coach of the storied franchise. He has led the team to an NBA-best 42-17 record since he replaced Ime Udoka who was removed from the role after it was learned that he had an inappropriate relationship with another Celtics employee.
Udoka had just led the team to the NBA Finals and was suspended by the Celtics over the sordid details of the affair. Many had wondered if Udoka would return to the franchise at some point but that seems extremely unlikely now.
After the Brooklyn Nets parted ways with Steve Nash, there was talk that they were seriously considering Udoka as their next head coach, but the idea was eventually dropped.
The Nets didn’t need or want that kind of controversy, especially given everything they were dealing with on the court at that time. Meanwhile, the Celtics’ gamble with Mazzulla has paid off.
Since all of this has taken place, the team hasn’t missed a beat and seems to be well on their way back to the Eastern Conference Finals, which could be attributed largely to Mazzulla’s leadership.
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.