Joe Mazzulla Completely Ignoring The Media While Being Asked About Jayson Tatum Practicing Is Yet Another Reason He's The Greatest To Ever Do It

MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images. Getty Images.

Objectively, Joe Mazzulla is one of the best basketball coaches on planet earth. Sorry if that seems extreme, but that's the truth.

Statistically, he owns the best winning percentage of any coach in NBA history

Since 2022-23, the Celtics own the most wins in the NBA, the most playoff wins in the NBA, have won a title, and put up one of the greatest individual seasons the league has ever seen while playing Mazzulla Ball

That alone would make any coach a legend. 

But what makes Joe Mazzulla so great is everything else that also comes with the basketball stuff. His quotes are eclectic, and his press conferences are legendary. A perfect example of this came ahead of the Celts/Lakers showdown when he was asked about the biggest story in the NBA: Jayson Tatum's potential return.

We all saw the footage/pictures of Tatum back at practice, so Joe was asked about it. I think it's safe to say that he answered it in the most Joe Mazzulla way possible

This is funny for a few reasons. The first being the fact that a Tatum return date/his participation have been essentially handled like state secrets. Nobody is leaking anything. Even Tatum himself won't commit to it, so surely Joe Mazzulla isn't going to either. At the same time, he knows the media is going to continue ask about it. So what does he do? Silent treatment. Just flat out ignores the question and stares into space. 

What a move! I don't think we've seen Joe play his card at the podium but I have to admit, I love it. Look at that death stare when Joe was asked if Tatum participated in any part of the practice, and then nothing. Just silence. Did Joe Mazzulla just revolutionize NBA coach press conferences? I feel like he may have. Joe is no dummy, he knows that if he tells the truth and lets us know that Tatum did participate in practice with the main club, that it's going to cause a shit storm and maybe put unnecessary pressure on Tatum to return. Considering the team's approach for the last 280+ days and their commitment to not putting any pressure on Tatum whatsoever, this is a great move.

The last thing you want is your coach saying something he shouldn't or saying something that could be spun into something else. I'm sure plenty of coaches would have talked circles around some sort of spinzone, or even given a PR answer as some sort of fluff. Not Joe. He's going to make things awkward as hell as a way to show disgust with your question. He knows what's happening, and he stops it before it even has time to spread. Considering how he used to erupt on reports in his earty years, this is great growth and an innovative strategy that we can all get behind.

Advertisement

Plus, it's just flat out funny. Like the time Joe answered every question after the Pacers loss "illegal screen", which the NBA then later admitted was an actual illegal screen by Pascal Siakam ahead of his game winner

Or the time to avoid a fine, he went full Vrabel instead of calling out the officials, even though everyone knew what he was doing

The man has been ahead of the curve with everything. Style of play? Everyone wants to play Mazzulla Ball now. Press conferences? Don't be surprised if we now see more coaches go the Mazzulla route. The man is an innovator, a champion, a basketball psycho, a masshole. 

And you know what? I wouldn't want it any other way.