Joe Mazzulla coached the Celtics to NBA championship on torn meniscus

Joe Mazzulla became the youngest coach since the late, great Bill Russell to win an NBA title on Monday night when his Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-88. But the 35-year-old Mazzulla has one thing that Russell did not: a torn meniscus.

During the festivities following the win, Mazzulla spoke to “SportsCenter” and was asked what his celebration plans are. He revealed he has none, because he needs to have surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

“Hey guess what?” Mazzulla said. “I gotta have knee surgery. I tore my meniscus in March after we lost to Atlanta … I’m gonna be out a little while, I’ve been working through it since March.”

The Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks on March 25 and 28. Both games were in Atlanta and both were losses for the Celtics. So Mazzulla has been dealing with this for almost three entire months. Hopefully he has a chance to do a little celebrating before he goes in for surgery.

Mazzulla wasn’t the only coach to have prowled the sideline with an injury during the playoffs. Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch ruptured his patellar tendon in Game 4 of the Wolves’ first-round sweep of the Phoenix Sun. He collided with his own player, Mike Conley Jr., on the sideline and spent several games on the bench in the second round after having surgery.