After an impressive sweep of the Indiana Pacers during the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston Celtics head coach, Joe Mazzula, is going to the NBA Finals–and he’s also going into the history books.
Mazzula will be the youngest head coach to reach the NBA Finals since 1969, NBC Sports reports. At just 35 years old, Mazzula is the youngest head coach since NBA legend Bill Russell led the Celtics to victory against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 1969 finals to win their 11th title in a 13 year span. This upcoming championship will be the team’s second Finals appearance in the last three years, and the first with Mazzulla as the head coach.
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Celtics power forward, Jayson Tatum, credits his coach with helping the team clinch their Game 3 win with an inspiring, game-changing message when all seemed lost.
“Things weren’t going our way. It seemed like they were coming out and scoring every single time. Maybe we were slow to bring the ball up the court. When we get scored on, we might put our head down. It felt like [expletive] wasn’t going our way,” Tatum told reporters during the post-game press conference. “Joe always talks about how it’s not always going to go how we want it to or we expect it to. That’s OK. …Joe just kind of told us to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. Whatever situation we’re in, that’s the situation that we’re in. It’s on us to figure it out.”
And figure it out, they did, thanks to the young head coach’s leadership. The Celtics and Mazulla will face off against either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals which begin on June 6.
Cover Photo: Joe Mazzulla Makes History As Youngest Head Coach To Reach NBA Finals / Photo credit: NBA.com/Getty Images