Joe Mazzulla is sticking around Causeway Street for the foreseeable future.
The Celtics announced Friday that they had signed the NBA championship-winning head coach to a multi-year contract extension.
In a team-released statement, Mazzulla said the extension is “truly a blessing.”
“I would not be here without my faith, my wife, and my children,” he said. “We are thankful for the partnership with our ownership groups, Brad (Stevens)’s mentorship, and the support of our staff. Most importantly, I am grateful for the players I have been able to coach the past three seasons. I look forward to competing for the Celtics and the city of Boston.”
The 37-year-old Mazzulla, who was elevated from his previous role as a Celtics assistant just before the 2022-23 season, owns a career head-coaching record of 182-64, winning at least 57 games in each of his first three seasons as Boston’s bench boss.
The Johnston, R.I., native steered a loaded Celtics roster to an NBA title in 2024 – becoming the youngest NBA head coach to win it all since Bill Russell in 1969 – then went 61-21 this past season before being upset by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“We are very excited that Joe has agreed to extend with the Celtics,” Stevens, Boston’s president of basketball operations, said in a statement. “He understands the job and has a passion for the Celtics that is only rivaled by our most diehard fans. He’s worked hard and accomplished amazing things in his first three years as a head coach – including averaging over 60 wins per season and winning the 2024 NBA Championship. Joe is a gifted leader who brings a consistent commitment to learning, improving and maximizing each day we get to compete for the Boston Celtics.”
Stevens had sidestepped multiple questions about Mazzulla’s contract status this offseason, saying he and the team would “keep any of those discussions in-house.” He regularly praised Mazzulla, however, stressing in his end-of-season news conference that the Celtics were “lucky that we have Joe here.”
“We’ve got Joe under contract for multiple years right now,” Stevens said on NBA draft night in late June. “So we certainly want Joe to be around here for a long time.”
Despite his stellar record as a head coach, Mazzulla has faced criticism for his strategy and game management, most recently in the Knicks series. His 2024-25 Celtics made and attempted more 3-pointers than any team in NBA history, and that approach burned them in the first two games of the East semis, during which they went 25-for-100 from deep while blowing back-to-back 20-point leads.
Mazzulla also continued to play center Kristaps Porzingis in the series, even as symptoms from a lingering viral illness severely limited his effectiveness.
After bearing the weight of championship expectations in each of his first three seasons, Mazzulla now faces a different challenge in Year 4: coaching a team few believe will be a legitimate contender.
After being bounced by New York in six games, the Celtics gutted their roster in pursuit of luxury tax savings and increased “flexibility.” Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet all were traded or left in free agency – with Al Horford expected to follow suit in the coming weeks – and were replaced by Anfernee Simons, Luka Garza, Josh Minott, 19-year-old first-round draft pick Hugo Gonzalez and new signee Chris Boucher. Veteran Georges Niang was acquired in the Porzingis deal and then traded again, along with two future second-round draft picks, for undrafted rookie wing RJ Luis Jr., who is on a two-way contract.
Of that crop of newcomers, only Simons has been a starting-caliber player in the NBA.
Most importantly, Boston also will be without its All-NBA centerpiece for most or all of the upcoming season as Jayson Tatum recovers from the ruptured Achilles that ended his 2025 playoffs.
Tatum appears to be progressing well in his recovery – he was not wearing a walking boot when he attended a Patriots practice on Wednesday and joined Mazzulla for a community event in Rhode Island on Thursday – but the team has not announced a timetable for his return to the court. Stevens has said he won’t be back until he’s “fully ready and fully healthy.”
How the notoriously intense, hyper-competitive Mazzulla handles a season that likely will feature many more losses than any of his previous campaigns will be one of the top Celtics storylines when training camp tips off in late September, along with how Jaylen Brown will fare as the new No. 1 option in Tatum’s absence.
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