Joe Mazzulla Reveals Surprise Injury Following Celtics' Title Win

Your Boston Celtics are officially 2023-24 NBA Champions, thanks in large part due to head coach Joe Mazzulla's steady leadership. His grit and determination were on full display following Game 5 when the 35-year-old revealed he's been coaching on a torn meniscus since March.

Appearing on ESPN's post-game show, Mazzulla was asked how he was going to celebrate as a champion. Unfortunately, he has to have knee surgery. Mazzulla said he suffered the injury in a loss to Atlanta.

The Celtics fell to the Hawks in consecutive games on March 25 and 28, so it's not clear which game Mazzulla suffered the injury. Either way, he'll be happy to finally get the ailment properly treated.

Joe Mazzulla Reveals He's Been Coaching on Torn Meniscus

"Hey, guess what?" Mazzulla told ESPN. "I got to have knee surgery. I tore my meniscus in March after we lost to Atlanta."

While there are plenty of celebrations ahead as Boston basks in its NBA-record 18th NBA Finals championship, Mazulla admitted, "I'm gonna be out a little while."

He said all this with a smile, the confetti still falling from the rafters at TD Garden. In only his second season, Mazzulla reached the mountaintop. The Celtics finished with a combined 80-21 record, one of the most dominant teams in recent memory by any standard.

Mazzulla led Boston to a 57-25 record in his first season before falling to the Miami Heat in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The organization now hopes to become the first since Golden State in 2017-2018 to win consecutive championships.

With a strong core led by Jayson Tatum and newly-minted NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, they'll enter the season as favorites. FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Celtics at +300 to win next year's title and the Denver Nuggets second at +750.

If Mazzulla can coach this well on one knee, imagine how good he'll be after surgery.

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