Although it has been less than 2 seasons since Joe Mazzulla took over as the head coach for the Boston Celtics, he has helped them break a 16-year championship streak by defeating the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2024 NBA championship. As a result of his team’s recent success, Mazzulla is being acknowledged as one of the top coaches in the league.
Fans who have been following the Celtics all season long will be aware that Joe Mazzulla is not like the majority of coaches in the NBA. Several reports have indicated that he utilizes a variety of coaching techniques in order to motivate and get the best out of his squad. Since those techniques certainly seem to have worked perfectly this season, one may want to know more about his coaching method.
Joe Mazzulla reveals to have motivated Jayson Tatum using an iconic movie scene
After helping the Boston Celtics win the 2024 NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum has been given a lot more attention than what fans would have expected given that he did not win the Finals MVP award. Tatum did undergo some shooting struggles throughout the second half of the postseason. However, he did everything in his power such as rebounding and assisting teammates in order to help the Celtics win it all.
A recent report reveals that Joe Mazzulla made the Celtics star watch a scene from a well-known superhero movie called The Dark Knight to motivate him to perform even in the face of adversity. The scene in question was the interrogation between Batman and the Joker. The main essence of that scene was emphasizing that good and evil had to get along to bring the best out of each other.
Joe Mazzulla says he watched scene from “The Dark Knight” with Jayson Tatum to work on handling expectations and pressure
(via @PardonMyTake) pic.twitter.com/BnQewNtIii
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 19, 2024
Although it is unheard of for a head coach to motivate a franchise’s star by making him watch scenes from movies, Joe Mazzulla did just that.
Jayson Tatum discusses how Joe Mazulla makes the Boston Celtics watch UFC fights
During a postgame interview, Tatum also revealed that Joe Mazzulla made the entire Boston Celtics squad watch UFC fights. While combat sports do not have much similarity to basketball, Tatume explained that Mazzulla was hoping for his team to learn the importance of asserting dominance even when victory seems inevitable.
Tatum revealed that UFC fighters would relax when their opponent is on the verge of submission and end up potentially losing the fight as a result. Mazzulla used examples from other sports to explain the importance of playing with a sense of determination even when the game appears to be going in the Celtics’ favor.Mazzulla has a personal Jiu Jutsu trainer to help him associate with the pressure that his team undergoes
There have also been reports indicating that Mazzulla hired a personal jui jutsu trainer to put him in a chokehold and go through other forms of difficult situations in order for him to have a sense of empathy towards the players he was coaching and the pressure that they faced.
All of these coaching techniques are undoubtedly unorthodox and could also be considered bizarre. However, no one can criticize Mazzulla for his innovative strategies given that the Celtics won the NBA championship with only 3 losses taking place throughout the entire postseason.