Boston recently granted its championship coach a multi-year contract extension

Joe Mazzulla’s contract extension excited Boston Celtics fans and garnered accolades from former players and analysts. Many believe the franchise has a promising future under his leadership, even with Jayson Tatum out for the season.

On August 8, it was announced by Boston that Mazzulla had signed a multi-year extension. Although the terms are not known, the move was met with widespread acclaim from fans and media. Mazzulla has rapidly gained respect as one of the league’s promising young coaches after leading the Celtics to two Finals in three years and securing their first championship in 16 seasons in 2024.

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During the 2022-23 season, Mazzulla first took over as coach, stepping in for Ime Udoka after he was dismissed due to a scandal. Maintaining faith in him has proven beneficial, and with franchise icon Paul Pierce now publicly supporting him, Boston’s belief in its head coach appears to be at an all-time high.

Pierce is a big fan of Mazzulla

On Julian Edelman’s Games With Names podcast, Pierce-an NBA champion with the 2008 Celtics-made his admiration for Mazzulla clear. “I love Mazzulla, dude. He fits the kind of Boston mentality,” Pierce said.

He went on to praise the coach’s connection with the roster: “I like that he’s young; he can relate to the players. I like his mentality. I like all of his press conferences. He’s kind of a no-nonsense type of coach, but the players love him. Yeah, he’s a great fit.”

With Jayson Tatum sidelined and expectations sky-high, Mazzulla’s leadership will be tested like never before. If he can rally Boston through adversity, this extension may prove to be just the start of a championship run.

A trial by fire ahead

The true test of Mazzulla’s coaching will come this season. The Celtics are without Tatum, who is out for the year with an Achilles injury, while new additions Chris Boucher and rookie guard R.J. Louis Jr. will shake up both the rotation and the locker room dynamic.

Even so, Pierce and several analysts believe Mazzulla has the ability to reorganize the team and push them back to the Finals after this year’s disappointing playoff exit at the hands of the New York Knicks in the conference semifinals.

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