Entering his fourth year as head coach, Joe Mazzulla is already well aware of the Boston Celtics‘ yearly chase for NBA supremacy.
Perhaps it’s why he kissed the TD Garden’s historic floors during the team’s ring ceremony in October 2024, recognizing the amount of blood, sweat and tears Boston legends before them have poured to earn those 18 championship banners.
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Each banner represents a standard of excellence established with hard work and hunger. And in the 2025-2026 NBA season, Mazzulla expects nothing less from the Celtics and himself.
“I think there’s a ton that’s out of your control. But at the end of the day, the process of winning is the ultimate goal,” he said at the Celtics’ media day. “I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I do know we’ll treat it as such that we will have the process of winning every single day. What happens from there, happens from there.”
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Even if the odds are against them this year, Mazzulla said there are no setbacks that would hinder the team from achieving its ultimate goal: winning the NBA championship.
“Every year,” he said when asked if Boston is still eyeing a championship this season. “It should be.”
Maximizing the Celtics’ strengths
During the offseason, the Celtics lost Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Then, ahead of the season, free agents Luke Kornet and Al Horford signed with the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors, respectively.
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Meanwhile, franchise centerpiece Jayson Tatum is still out indefinitely as he continues to recover from his torn Achilles.
With these losses, the coach said he will maximize the resources he has: a strong backcourt bannered by 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, defensive guard Derrick White and off-the-bench sparkplug Payton Pritchard, who could potentially be moved up to a starting role.
The Celtics are expected to adopt a faster pace on offense, where Brown, White and Pritchard could thrive. Meanwhile, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman, Sr. will need to hold up the frontcourt’s rebounding and rim protection responsibilities.
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Mazzulla’s work is cut out for him and he is determined to make the winning adjustments.
“I think you’re always trying to, regardless of what your roster is, you just try to maximize it,” the coach said. “You play to the strengths of your roster…their awareness of the environment, what wins night in and night out over the course of the NBA.”
Joe thinks a little bit of outside noise is needed
Now, with the loss of Tatum and departures of key pieces of the 2024 championship team, NBA insiders have cast doubt on Boston’s contention chances this year. They projected the team to win only 43 games, good enough for the play-in but 18 fewer wins from their 2024-2025 record (61-21).
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Mazzulla said he’s looking to use these doubts to motivate himself and the team.
“For longevity, you wanna be able to push the standard that you set for yourself,” he said. “[But] I do think you need bits and pieces of short-term extrinsic motivation along the way of a long journey.”
However, Joe stressed that the Celtics will not be playing to meet anybody’s expectations; it will only be the internal standard the team has set for itself.
“That’s really the focus, not allowing others to put expectations on you,” he said. “If I ever get to the point where I start basing my motivation on the expectations of others and people that I’ve never met before. I’ll retire, quick.”
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Boston experienced many roster setbacks in the offseason. It’s up to Mazzulla how he’s going to maximize the strengths of the current Celtics as they begin their chase for banner number 19.
And there’ll be no excuses.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.