Just 13 years after his departure from West Virginia, a former WVU Basketball captain has taken the next step toward historic status in the NBA.
Alum Joe Mazzulla, who played for West Virginia from 2006 to 2011 and served as team captain in the 2010 run to the Final Four, advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career Monday night- as head coach for the Boston Celtics.
Mazzulla stepped in as interim head coach last season after the team’s suspension of Ime Udoka. After leading the Celtics to a 57-25 record, he was named a candidate for the NBA’s Coach of the Year award.
Mazzulla’s success earned him the official head coach title along with a contract extension before the 2023 NBA Playoffs, but Boston’s season was cut short after falling in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat.
This season, Mazzulla and the Celtics did not suffer the same fate.
Boston trekked back to the Eastern Conference Finals swiftly, defeating the Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers in rounds one and two respectively, both in five games. Now, just as quickly as they entered, the Celtics have left the Eastern Conference Finals after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in four games.
With the Finals berth, Mazzulla is now the youngest coach in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals since 1969, when player-coach Bill Russell led his own Boston Celtics through the playoffs.
Despite sweeping Indiana, the Celtics found themselves in several tight situations in the series, with the series-ending game four being no exception. Mazzulla’s Celtics led a comeback in the final minutes to win 105-102, ending with a Derrick White three-pointer with less than a minute remaining and several defensive stops.
It is unlikely that this will be the last of close calls for Mazzulla and his Boston squad as they enter the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves. As such, he appreciates the experiences that will help the Celtics be ready at the biggest stage.
“A game is not supposed to go a certain type of way, and you’ve got to find different ways to win,” Mazzulla said. “As many different situations as we could put ourselves in heading into this last round, it’s important, and the guys have done a great job winning games many different ways.”
Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics begin their run in the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The entire series will be available live on ABC.
