How Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla made history with NBA Finals appearance originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are headed to the 2024 NBA Finals after an impressive victory over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It is the team’s second Finals appearance in the last three years, but it is the first with Joe Mazzulla as head coach.
Not only is Mazzulla the youngest head coach in the league at 35, he is the youngest head coach to lead his team to the NBA Finals since Celtics legend Bill Russell in 1969.
Russell was 35 during the 1968-69 season. It was the final year of his Hall of Fame career and his second as a player/head coach. Russell’s Celtics upset the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers in the 1969 NBA Finals to win their 11th title in a 13-year span, highlighted by a dramatic Game 7 victory along the way.
Mazzulla is also in his second year as Celtics head coach. Last season, he led the Celtics to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. This year, the C’s finished with the league’s best record (64-18) during the regular season before dominating the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 12-2 record heading into the finals.
The Celtics are riding a seven-game winning streak into the finals, where they will play the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks hold a 3-0 series lead over the Wolves in the Western Conference Finals entering Game 4 on Tuesday night.
