On Wednesday, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla won the 2025-26 NBA Coach of the Year Award. He received 62 out of 100 possible First Place votes. Despite a stellar season, the Celtics faced an early postseason exit to the Philadelphia 76ers, and the man in charge of the Garden Floor did his best this season under challenging circumstances.
Many considered this a gap year for Boston, as they were without Jayson Tatum for all but 16 games of the regular season. Tatum missed roughly 10 months due to an Achilles tear suffered against the New York Knicks in the 2025 playoffs.
The Celtics finished with a record of 56-26, good enough for second in the Eastern Conference. In classic Joe Mazzulla fashion, he called the award stupid and deflected the recognition. Instead, he chose to give credit to his coaching staff, saying to NBC, “I think it’s a stupid award,” and, “This award should be named Staff of the Year.”
