What would you do if you happened to run into Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla in public? Maybe you’d avoid eye contact because he might be one of the scariest human beings in the Northeast. Perhaps you’d acknowledge him with a head nod, or even thank him for helping lead the Celtics to the 2024 NBA Championship.
Well, Twitter/X user “@34for2” (Giannis Antetokounmpo profile picture) elected to take none of those options after noticing Mazzulla onboard their flight. Upon boarding the plane, they tried to snap a photo of the Rhode Island native, who seemed completely aware of what was happening.
Man it takes forever to board a plane pic.twitter.com/hPm1zdQa0T
— 🥤 (@34for2) August 15, 2025
Mazzulla gave the camera one of the most intimidating stares you’ll ever see, which made for great social media content. He looked straight through the soul of the photographer, with a glare that sent a very clear, “I see you,” message. It’s the exact reaction any person familiar with the Celtics coach would expect. The photo went viral, garnering nearly 4 million views on Twitter.
Joe Mazzulla wasn't lying when he said he's always trying to "win" situations in his everyday life
The 37-year-old’s awareness shouldn’t come as a surprise. He’s always analyzing and evaluating his environment. Mazzulla broke down his intense everyday thought process last year, during an appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast.
“Literally, how can I win every single situation or environment?” Mazzulla pontificated with hosts Big Cat and PFT Commenter. “Like, how can I win the environment no matter where I am at any particular time?” What are the threats, the strengths, and the opportunities?”
He even went as far to say he won’t use revolving doors because of the risk of getting stuck.
“Like I won’t walk through revolving doors,” he added. “If one of them gets stuck then you’re just a sitting duck.. If they get stuck, you’re screwed.”
His awareness on the flight goes hand-in-hand with his strategy at restaurants -- watching the door and noticing everything happening in front of him.
“Don’t have your back to the door. At a restaurant, I never sit with my back to the door. You always gotta sit to where you can have a vantage point of everything that’s going on around you.”
It’s doubtful that we’ll ever get to hear Mazzulla’s perspective on this photo, but I’m sure it’d be pretty similar to the insight above. Regardless, it’s safe to say that if you want a photo with him, you should probably just ask instead of sneaking it (yes, boarding a plane is one of the worst times to try and ask for a photo).