Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla standing on the sidelines.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla looking on from the sidelines.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is officially an NBA champion. But long before he paced the sidelines at the TD Garden, his basketball journey began in the Ocean State.
While Mazzulla is now one of the biggest names in Boston sports, his rise to the top of the professional basketball world is rooted deeply in Rhode Island.
A Johnston Native and High School Champion
Mazzulla was born and raised in Johnston, Rhode Island. He made his first major mark on the court at Bishop Hendricken High School.
Leading the basketball team to three consecutive state titles, he graduated in 2006 as a local sports hero.
His home state has not forgotten him. Earlier this year, Mazzulla addressed the student body at his alma mater, and he was later honored at the Rhode Island State House following the Celtics’ 2024 NBA Championship win.
Coaching Runs in the Family
Basketball is a family business for the Mazzullas. His late father, Dan Mazzulla, was a Bryant University Hall of Famer and a legendary longtime coach at Johnston High School.
The coaching tree extends directly to his brother, Justin Mazzulla.
Justin played for Bishop Hendricken, George Washington University, and the University of Vermont. After working on the men’s basketball staff at the University of Rhode Island, Justin took over as head coach for the Ottawa Blackjacks in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
March Madness Heroics at West Virginia
Joe Mazzulla during his college basketball playing days at West Virginia University.
Before pacing the sidelines, Mazzulla made national headlines playing for West Virginia University. During the 2010 NCAA tournament, he delivered a massive performance in the Elite Eight against top-seeded Kentucky.
Stepping off the bench in his first game of the season to replace an injured starter, Mazzulla dropped 17 points. His performance secured West Virginia’s first Final Four appearance since 1959.
According to his Fairmont State University biography, Mazzulla also won a Big East Tournament Championship and an NIT Tournament Championship. He was selected to the Big East Academic All-Star Team three times during his college career.
A Historic Ascent to the NBA Finals
Mazzulla cut his teeth as an assistant coach at Glenville State University, Fairmont State University, and the Maine Red Claws G League affiliate. He joined the Boston Celtics as an assistant in 2019, helping push the franchise to the 2022 NBA Finals.
When former head coach Ime Udoka was suspended in 2022, Mazzulla stepped up as interim head coach. By February 2023, the franchise officially named him the 19th head coach in Celtics history.
Since taking the helm, he has earned Eastern Conference Coach of the Month four times and took home NBA Coach of the Year honors once.
The 2023-24 season cemented his legacy. Mazzulla guided the Celtics to their 18th NBA title, giving the franchise the most championships in league history.
At just 35 years old, he became the youngest head coach to win the NBA Finals since a 35-year-old Bill Russell did it for the Celtics in 1969.
Meeting His Match at Glenville State
Joe Mazzulla standing alongside his wife Camai.
Mazzulla met his wife, Camai, in 2011 while working at Glenville State University. At the time, he was coaching men’s basketball while she coached women’s volleyball.
Camai brought her own athletic pedigree to the relationship, having competed in volleyball and track and field during her student years at Glenville.
The couple married in 2014, officially making Mazzulla a stepfather to Camai’s son, Michael. Two years later, the pair welcomed their first son together, Emmanuel “Manny” Mazzulla.
