Jayson Tatum calls Joe Mazzulla a 'perfect combination' of two former coaches

In an appearance on "The Pivot" podcast, Jayson Tatum had nothing but kind words to say about his current coach, calling him the perfect combination of two former coaches critical to his development.

Dec 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) react during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Joe Mazzulla is in his fourth season as Celtics head coach, but heading into this season there were still lingering debates about his coaching ability. There were some who considered him a rising star, adjusting quickly to the bizarre circumstances under which he got the job to win a championship. Others considered him a product of Brad Stevens’ roster construction, merely tagging along with generational talents who carried him to a title. 

The talk around Mazzulla has quieted this year, though. The Celtics are 29-17, a .630 winning percentage with a roster losing four key contributors to other teams and their perennial first-team All-NBA superstar to injury. He has won 72.3% of his regular season games and 66% of his playoff games. 

There's a good bet that Mazzulla would read that last sentence and say, out loud, ‘I haven't won anything.’ It’s a mentality that keeps media members on their toes, because he always finds a way to deflect questions he doesn’t want to answer, or challenge the media to re-think the premise of what they're asking. 

Speaking on “The Pivot” podcast, Jayson Tatum said what we see with Mazzulla is what he’s really like in real life. 

“That's exactly who he is,” Tatum said. “Joe's is one of the best people I've ever been around, one of the best, genuine, fierce, like, he's an ultimate competitor, right? He wants to win at all costs, one of the toughest guys I ever met. But more than that, he cares about every single person in that locker room, on the staff, in that organization.”

Mazzulla is Tatum’s third coach with the Celtics, coming in with Brad Stevens, the moving on to a brief stint with Ime Udoka that resulted in an NBA Finals appearance, and then a championship run with Mazzulla. 

“I've been very fortunate that I've played for some of the best coaches, I believe, of this generation,” Tatum said. “And it was perfect, because each stint that I had, the coach was perfect for my development. 

“Brad Stevens isn't ‘rah, rah’ type of guy, but when I first got to the league as a 19-year-old, he showed me the game, the NBA game … it was perfect for me to learn the ins and outs, the X's and O's, how to strategize, how to watch film … 

“When we got Ime, it was a perfect of, like, now it's my fifth year in the league, how do we make this jump? We had never been to the Finals. We had gotten to the Conference Finals three times, but we haven't gotten over that hump. Ime was the best at, like, obviously he knew the game, but he was the best at getting the best out of guys and pushing your buttons, and like, we not backing down from anybody. 

“And Joe Mazzulla is the perfect combination of both. And as you guys seen, we got over the hump, and got it done.” 

Mazzulla has been in the Coach of the Year conversation before, but finished third and fourth. He’s won a few Coach of the Month awards, which sparked Derrick White’s infamous conversation with him. 

During a 2024 NBA Finals media availability, white said “when he won coach of the month, I said ‘hey, congratulations.’ And he just looked at me and said ‘nobody cares.’”