Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla: NBA Finals Repeat ‘All I’ve Been Thinking About’ Since Title

After winning the 2024 NBA championship earlier this week, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is already ready to chase another one.

While speaking to ESPN’s Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post (36:40 mark), Mazzulla said that winning a second straight title next season is “all I’ve been thinking about” since the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.

Mazzulla said he’s looking to follow the paths of teams across other sports that have repeated as champions. He named Manchester City’s four straight Premier League titles as a model he hopes the Celtics will follow.

“That’s what I’m studying right now,” he said. “Last year it was about finding a shared mental model, now it’s like, OK, what’s our ecosystem gonna be under the circumstances of coming off of one, and how are we gonna attack this mentally as an organization going forward? You want to take on the expectations of that, but it can’t just be about that. So that four in a row in the Premier League, I’m studying the science, the emotion, everything that goes into that.”

The Celtics had the best record in the league this season at 64-18 and went on to lose just three games in the playoffs on their way to earning their 18th championship in franchise history.

Boston’s core led by Jayson Tatum and NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown will remain intact for the foreseeable future, giving the team a strong chance to remain among the top contenders in the league for years to come.

While Mazzulla is already looking ahead to next season and beyond, there’s still some celebrating to do. The Celtics will have a victory parade in Boston on Friday, so Mazzulla and his players will get to enjoy the fruits of their labor this season.