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Joe Mazzulla has never been one to stick to conventional wisdom<\/a>, and that certainly trickles into his coaching style. Celtics guard Derrick White revealed on his podcast one of the bizarre methods Mazzulla used in order to improve the team’s conditioning.<\/p>\n White said that during practices, Mazzulla would reward the team that won a scrimmage by having them run. That was, in his own way, Mazzulla’s means of changing the way the team viewed running. Rather than deem it a punishment, he wanted Boston to think of running as a well-earned reward.<\/p>\n “He’d do this thing, where, if you win a drill… Usually the loser runs. We did this thing, where the winners run. Like, you’re getting rewarded by running. [Mazzulla] was like, ‘We’ve got to change our mindset that running is our reward, and we don’t get to stand by and just watch…'” White said on his podcast, White Noise.<\/p>\n Joe Mazzulla used make the winners of scrimmages run to \u201creward them with running\u201d and to \u201cchange their mindset\u201d.<\/p>\n Absolutely bonkers. (via @kicks<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/tatYyG4JJz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n “I think it was a cool message. Like, if you win you can’t relax,” White said.<\/p>\n It’s certainly an example of Mazzulla’s unconventional mindset<\/a>, but White spoke highly of the idea and said he, and others in the organization, actually grew quite fond of the unique take on running. <\/p>\n More NBA on Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n This article was originally published on www.si.com as Derrick White Reveals Joe Mazzulla’s Twisted ‘Reward’ for Celtics During Practices<\/a>. <\/p>\n