Joseph Mazzulla (born June 30, 1988) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for West Virginia University.
Boston Celtics | |
---|---|
Position | Head coach |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | (1988-06-30) June 30, 1988 (age 34) Johnston, Rhode Island, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, Rhode Island) |
College | West Virginia (2006–2011) |
NBA draft | 2011 / Undrafted |
Coaching career | 2011–present |
Career history | |
As coach: | |
2011–2013 | Glenville State (assistant) |
2013–2016 | Fairmont State (assistant) |
2016–2017 | Maine Red Claws (assistant) |
2017–2019 | Fairmont State |
2019–2022 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
2022–present | Boston Celtics |
Mazzulla attended Bishop Hendricken High School in Rhode Island, where he made the all-state first team.[2] He won three state titles at Bishop Hendricken, with his third as a senior on a last-second shot.[3]
As a freshman at West Virginia, Mazzulla helped the team win the 2007 National Invitation Tournament under coach John Beilein.[2] In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Mazzulla posted 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in a second-round upset of Duke. He was forced to redshirt the 2008–09 season due to a shoulder injury against Ole Miss, as his growth plate never fused with his shoulder. He was unsure if he would ever play again, but practiced for two hours a day and underwent risky surgery. In April 2009, he was arrested for domestic battery at a bar in Morgantown, West Virginia and was suspended by coach Bob Huggins.[3] As a redshirt junior, Mazzulla was named a captain and helped West Virginia reach the 2010 Final Four. He scored 17 points in the Elite Eight upset of Kentucky.[4] As a senior, he averaged 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.[5] In his career, he scored 700 points and dished out 340 assists.[6]
Shortly after graduating college, Mazzulla was offered a coaching job at Nova Southeastern. He turned it down to pursue professional opportunities. He did not find any suitable opportunities overseas, and in September 2011 he joined Glenville State as an assistant.[7] Mazzulla was hired as an assistant at Fairmont State under Jerrod Calhoun in 2013.[2] During the 2016–17 season, he served as an assistant for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League. Mazzulla was named head coach of Fairmont State in March 2017.[5] In his second season, he led the team to a 22–9 record and appearance in the 2019 NCAA Division II Tournament, where they lost in the first round to Mercyhurst, 63–60, in overtime.
In June 2019, he was hired as an assistant coach of the Boston Celtics.[6] Mazzulla was named interim head coach for the Celtics after Ime Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022–23 season on September 22, 2022.[8][9]
Mazzulla was born in Johnston, Rhode Island. He is the son of basketball coach Dan Mazzulla, who played college basketball at Bryant and professionally for five years in Chile.[3] In 2007, Dan Mazzulla was inducted into the Bryant Hall of Fame.[10] He died of cancer in April 2020.[11] Joe's younger brother, Justin, played basketball at George Washington before transferring to Vermont.[12][13] Joe and his wife have two children.[14]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fairmont State (Mountain East Conference) (2017–2019) | |||||||||
2017–18 | Fairmont State | 21–8 | 17–5 | ||||||
2018–19 | Fairmont State | 22–9 | 18–4 | NCAA Division II First Round | |||||
Fairmont State: | 43–17 (.717) | 35–9 (.795) | |||||||
Total: | 43–17 (.717) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
Boston Celtics roster | |
---|---|
Boston Celtics head coaches | |
---|---|
# denotes interim head coach |