In a season few fans or analysts did not expect the Boston Celtics to play especially well given the exits of several high-profile players in the 2025 offseason and the Achilles tendon injury of star forward Jayson Tatum, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has been a key driver of Boston's success.
Getting extreme buy-in not only from his established players but also incoming depth options whether vets or rookies, Mazzulla has garnered plenty of attention as a candidate for the NBA's Coach of the Year award for the 2025-26 season, and deservedly so.
And while he has plenty of competition for that award around the league, momentum seems to be consolidating around the Celtics coach in recent weeks for the honor.
Boston alum Paul Pierce took some time to elucidate us with his own perspective of where Mazzulla's coaching job with the Celtics this season has him in the race for Coach of the Year on a recent episode of the "No Fouls Given" podcast.
The Boston Celtics won 130-126.
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"I've got to believe that coach Joe Mazzulla is hand-down the Coach of the Year," explained the Hall of Fame forward.
"Look who's out there on the court, the supporting cast, and not this not a knock on them but like, Payton Pritchard is the only mainstay, and then you're out here with (Baylor) Scheierman and (Luka) Garza contributing."
Whether that momentum will be enough to get Mazzulla past coaches like Detroit's JB Bickerstaff or Charlotte Hornets Charles Lee remains to be seen.
But having the Truth on your side certainly doesn't hurt.
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Paul Pierce thinks Joe Mazzulla should be Coach of the Year
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