The Celtics' leader has a ton of experience, but he's still the most youthful coach in the tournament.
It's hard to believe that Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is in his fourth year as the leader on the sidelines. It's even harder to believe that Mazzulla is still the youngest head coach in the playoff field.
The playoffs kick off on Saturday while the Celtics open up on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.
Per DraftKings:
Ages of NBA head coaches currently coaching in the playoffs/play-in tournament:
Joe Mazzulla (BOS) — 37
Mitch Johnson (SAS) — 39
Jordan Ott (PHX) — 41
JJ Redick (LAL) — 41
Mark Daigneault (OKC) — 41
Tiago Splitter (POR) — 41
Charles Lee (CHA) — 41
David Adelman (DEN) — 44
Jamahl Mosley (ORL) — 47
Darko Rajaković (TOR) — 47
J.B. Bickerstaff (DET) — 47
Ime Udoka (HOU) — 48
Chris Finch (MIN) — 56
Mike Brown (NYK) — 56
Kenny Atkinson (CLE) — 58
Nick Nurse (PHI) — 58
Quin Snyder (ATL) — 59
Steve Kerr (GSW) — 60
It's truly amazing how much Mazzulla has accomplished by such a young age - and under the amount of pressure he's been under.
The beginning
Remember: The Celtics got to the NBA Finals in 2021-22 under then-head coach Ime Udoka. Udoka was fired for reasons unrelated to basketball and Mazzulla was thrust into an incredibly tough position in his mid-30s.
He'd never been a head coach, but had the responsibility of keeping the organization together after Udoka's firing. Not only that, but he had the pressure of trying to follow up an NBA Finals season with a championship, all while navigating the complex nature of the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown relationship - and those who tried to break it apart.
Year 1
Mazzulla led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year at the helm, but he took some arrows in the playoffs for his substitution patterns, and the C's lost in seven games to the Miami Heat, who lost in seven games to the Denver Nuggets in the Finals.
Year 2
The Celtics broke apart that roster, to some degree, moving on from Malcolm Brogdon and bringing in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holliday. Boston went 64-18 in the regular season and defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals, vindicating the Tatum/Brown partnership and solidifying Mazzulla's importance to the organization.
Boston Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla yells instructions to his team from the sideline during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. Brian Westerholt-Imagn ImagesYear 3
The Celtics went 61-21 in the regular season, but they were defeated in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the New York Knicks. Tatum tore his Achilles tendon and missed the rest of that series and then 66 games this season.
Year 4
A true masterclass. With Tatum sidelined for 66 games and the organization moving on from on Holliday, Porzingis and Al Horford, the Celtics have gone 56-26 to earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. They enter the playoffs as one of the clear-cut favorites to win the title.
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