Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla never wants his players to be satisfied with winning. He reminds them of that during training camp with a unique practice, and veteran guard Derrick White said he’s never seen anything like it in the NBA.

On the “White Noise Podcast,” White remembered a preseason drill in which the winners of the workout would have to run — not the losers. The 2024 NBA champion seemed surprised by this approach, but he’s grown to embrace Mazzulla’s methods, who’s been his coach since 2022 and just signed a multi-year extension (for an undisclosed amount) in early August.

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“If you win a drill, usually the loser runs,” White explained. “But we did this thing where the winners run. You’re getting rewarded by running. (Mazzulla) was like, ‘We have got to change our mindset that winning is the reward. Running is our reward.’ We don’t get to stand by and just watch — it’s hard to win.”

Despite the unusual nature of the drill, White admitted that the reasoning behind it makes a lot of sense.

“I think it was a cool message,” he said. “It’s like: you win, you can’t relax. You win, and you can’t really relax because there’s another obstacle, there’s another thing. Like we won, we just competed in that drill, we finally won, and now we have to do a down-and-back. So, there’s another obstacle to always overcome.”

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This way of thinking is apparent in Mazzulla’s even-keeled attitude towards the regular season. He doesn’t get too excited when the Celtics are on a winning streak, and he doesn’t appear overly worried when they’re losing a few games in a row.

Of course, Boston hasn’t dropped three consecutive regular season contests since the 2022-23 campaign. That could change during the upcoming season, as the C’s may be without star Jayson Tatum for several months due to injury.

Even if the undermanned Celtics do embark on a losing streak, Mazzulla will be there to level them out emotionally. As for practice, it seems like the players are running no matter what.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Running is a reward for Joe Mazzulla, Derrick White, and the Celtics