Few have coached the Boston Celtics, and even fewer have won Coach of the Year with the storied franchise.
The Celtics have had 19 head coaches since their founding in 1946, including Joe Mazzulla. He’s now in even rarer company after winning Coach of the Year on Tuesday night.
Joe Mazzulla joined a distinguished group of Celtics coaches after COTY win
Mazzulla is now the fourth coach in Celtics history to win COTY. The others are Basketball Hall of Famers Red Auerbach (1964-65), Tom Heinsohn (1972-73) and Bill Fitch (1979-80).
Mazzulla may not care about this fact. He seemed to be channeling the cigar-smoking Auerbach when discussing how little he cared about the award in March.