Why Joe Mazzulla Convinced Celtics To Make Unique Consultant Hire

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla embraces his student-of-the-game approach to life to the fullest, and that eagerness to vacuum as much knowledge as possible resulted in an unforeseen organizational hire.

Mazzulla got started immediately after the Celtics endured elimination at the hands of the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in 2023. Boston’s failure to return to the NBA Finals and meet its sky-high expectations dragged Mazzulla, a then-first-year head coach, pelted with blame and criticism. Mazzulla took the loss on the chin and reached out to Josh Waitzkin, a former child chess prodigy and the inspiration behind the 1993 drama film “Searching for Bobby Fischer.”

Waitzkin got back to Mazzulla, and the two began exchanging text messages back and forth.

“I need Josh to make me better so I can help the team be better,” Mazzulla told Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “That’s how it’s always been.”

The friendship between Mazzulla and Waitzkin, also an experienced tai chi competitor, grew greater from Boston’s underachieving finish in 2022-23, and the Celtics began relying on the 48-year-old more. Waitzkin would be asked to review game film, and he even made various trips to watch the team live in Boston. He’d relay messages and advice back to the team, and gained Mazzulla’s trust and interest so much so that the 36-year-old went directly to Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and vouched for Waitzkin to receive a consultant position.

Stevens signed off, and Waitzkin (quietly) became the organization’s replacement for Jeff Van Gundy without any official announcement.

Waitzkin recalled one conversation in particular with Mazzulla during a video conference, in which he was peppered with countless questions and an outpouring of curiosity.

“I could just feel in that conversation I was pushing on some edges, and I felt the authenticity and all-in of this man,” Waitzkin said. “It’s a beautiful thing when you run into a leader who walks the talk so completely and wants to train as hard as anyone.”

Waitzkin, with no basketball experience, has since been utilized for coaching meetings and discussions with players throughout the season. Mazzulla’s main focus has been leaning on Waitzkin for a perspective of accepting failure that most teams across the league wouldn’t think to examine and apply. Welcoming a chess wizard to join a storied NBA franchise with championship demands goes above thinking outside the box, but as unpredictable as it may seem, it’s on par with Mazzulla’s overarching philosophy; any lesson, whether in basketball or the UFC or when watching killer whales, can share a parallel to the big-picture journey that’s crossing the finish line with a Larry O’Brien Trophy in hand.

“Josh is great at finding certain segments of the game where it either went really well or it didn’t go well and seeing it from a non-tactical perspective,” Mazzulla said. “It’s more getting into the mind of an individual fighter or performer.”

It wasn’t easy being thrown into the head-coaching fire with zero time to assemble a hand-picked coaching staff, but Mazzulla didn’t back down. The Celtics promoted him to interim head coach once the Ime Udoka scandal went public, which eventually developed from a year-long suspension for Udoka to pertinent termination. Then, nearly five months later, Boston removed Mazzulla’s interim tag and named the New England native its full-time head coach — a move that’s since aged well for the franchise.

The Celtics reached the promised land last season by defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 Finals, which cemented Mazzulla’s legacy as the clipboard commander behind Banner 18. Boston hasn’t turned content, as the team is back on the hunt following its first-round knockout of the Orlando Magic.

Waitzkin is expected to be along for the ride for the remainder of the playoffs.