Guiding the Boston Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference despite missing superstar Jayson Tatum until March 6, Joe Mazzulla was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time on Tuesday.
Mazzulla, 37, received 62 first-place votes, 24 second-place votes and 10 third-place votes and finished with 392 points. The Detroit Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff finished second with 312 points, followed by the San Antonio Spurs’ Mitch Johnson (133 points).
“At the end of the day, regardless of what happens in the offseason or what moves may be made or what it is, the process towards a championship is the No. 1 goal, and sticking to that process,” Mazzulla told NBC. “That’s a credit to the players and it’s a credit to the entire organization.
“In one of our first meetings this year, we met our entire building and said we are going to stick to the process of winning and not get caught up in the external thing. I thought the commitment from the entire organization to sticking to the process (was laudable). …
“We obviously fell short of that, but I thought throughout the regular season our guys came in every day with a chip on their shoulders. They came in wanting to stick to that process and getting better every day.”
Mazzulla led the Celtics to a 56-26 record, including a 51-19 mark after they lost seven of their first 12 games. Boston has won at least 56 games in each of Mazzulla’s four seasons at the helm.
Under Mazzulla’s guidance, the Celtics ranked second in offensive rating (120.0) and fourth in defensive rating (111.7) and net rating (8.3).
The Rhode Island native is the first Celtics coach to win the award since Bill Fitch in 1979-80 and the fourth in franchise history, along with Tom Heinsohn (1972-73) and Red Auerbach (1964-65), for whom the award is named.
Mazzulla is also the youngest recipient since Phil Johnson, who was 33 when he won in 1974-75 with the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
–Field Level Media
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