Joe Mazzulla is no longer the interim head coach of the Boston Celtics. On Thursday morning, the team announced that its first order of business heading into the All-Star break is to remove the interim title and make Mazzulla the full-time head coach, making him the 19th person to hold that title in franchise history.
Joe Mazzulla is officially the 19th Head Coach in franchise history
pic.twitter.com/LMcTLS1u0m
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 16, 2023
Beyond the news that Mazzulla is getting the interim tag removed, the team said in a statement that he’ll additionally receive a contract extension, although the terms of the deal were not announced.
The Celtics say Joe Mazzulla has been named their full-time head coach and has negotiated a contract extension with the Eastern Conference leaders.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/LGN9cVpMwn pic.twitter.com/ZmRNQCcinM
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 16, 2023
Mazzulla has been with the Celtics since 2019, when he was hired as an assistant under Brad Stevens. He remained on staff after Stevens moved to a role in the team’s front office and Ime Udoka was hired to take over, and in the aftermath of Udoka’s year-long suspension in September due to an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, Mazzulla was promoted to interim head coach.
Despite taking over the team under those circumstances, Mazzulla has led Boston to the best record in basketball so far this season, as the team sits atop the Eastern Conference with a 42-17 record. As a result, he was selected to coach Team Giannis this weekend at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.