Whatever you want to call it when Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla changes things up on the court, don’t call it an adjustment. The Celtics coach finds himself under increased scrutiny heading into the 2025-26 NBA season despite having a title and an NBA Finals appearance to his resume (and one of the best coaching records in league history, while we’re at it) as his mandate changes a bit with the roster moves made by the Celtics front office this offseason.
With the Celtics getting younger, cheaper, and in need of some personal growth to get back to a contention status as fast as possible, Mazzulla will be tasked with developing young players in 2025-26. When asked by the media about those new arrivals and how that relates to his personal coaching style, Mazzulla took issue with the word ‘adjustments’.
“I think adjustment’s the wrong word,” he explained via CLNS Media. “It’s not adjusting. It’s developing a relationship. It’s growing together, having an understanding. It’s not this way or the highway.”
“That’s what training camp is about,” added Mazzulla. “That’s what the six to nine weeks in the summer that are about.”
“You build relationships with people. You have an understanding of what makes someone tick, what motivates someone. At the same time, you have an understanding of (whether) can you build an awareness as a team? What gives us the best chance to win every single night? You know, what gives us the best chance to play to our strengths? What self-awareness do we have to have as a team and an organization about where our deficiencies lie, and how can we navigate those together?”
“So it’s not adjusting them adjusting to me or any of that; it’s us working together on coming up with how can we push each other to be our absolute best and at the same time how can we develop an identity that gives us a shot to win every single night and a process towards that throughout a season.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Joe Mazzulla on why he doesn’t make adjustments with the Celtics
