There will be more spotlight on Joe Mazzulla than ever before, and that's saying something. Inheriting a Boston Celtics team coming off an NBA Finals run days before training camp was already enough pressure, but over the last few months, that pressure has only been amplified.
Between blowing a 3-1 lead in the first round and the Jaylen Brown trade, it will be on Mazzulla to prove he's still the man to guide the Celtics. While that gives him both pressure and motivation, what should fuel the motivation even more is his most recent snub: being left off Team USA's coaching staff.
While it was already known Erik Spoelstra was going to be the new head coach of the team, his staff hire have been announced, none of which turned out to be Mazzulla.
USA Basketball is expected to name Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault, Detroit's JB Bickerstaff and Gonzaga's Mark Few as assistant coaches for national team coach Erik Spoelstra's staff, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/fLD5EQNlxe
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 14, 2026
It's understandable that perhaps Poelstra didn't want to work with the coach he's gone up against both when Mazzulla was and wasn't the head coach, but even so. This is the NBA's reigning Coach of the Year for a good reason.
With so much working against him, this should push Mazzulla to further prove his coaching abilities. He has thrived when the chips were down, but in all fairness, it was when his team was loaded. This will be a unique challenge, but that has never fazed Mazzulla.
The Celtics gave Mazzulla the biggest endorsement
Trading Brown - especially with what they got back - was basically the Celtics declaring that their success last season had more to do with Mazzulla than it did with Brown. Brown was the driving force for their success without Tatum, but he was not alone in their surprisingly successful regular season campaign.
No one is saying that they were right to make that call. For now, at least. This season really is going to be telling for how impactful Mazzulla's coaching truly is. The postseason was a disappointment, and that reflects poorly on Mazzulla, but there was plenty of blame to go around.
Even so, he has proven enough to deserve this chance. With Team USA sending the message that they didn't think he was worth having on their staff, that might just be the extra push to vault Mazzulla to a whole new level, and by extension, the Celtics themselves.
And if Mazzulla proves Boston was right to believe in him, Team USA may have some regrets as to who they picked to man the sidelines for their upcoming Olympic team.
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