Brad Stevens Quiets Joe Mazzulla Storyline With Contract Reveal

Joe Mazzulla isn’t entering his final year under contract with the Boston Celtics, according to the person who extended him.

“I keep any of those discussions in house, but we’ve got Joe under contract for multiple years right now,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told reporters after the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night, as seen on NBC Sports Boston.

“We certainly want Joe to be around here for a long time.”

NBA insider Shams Charania reported in May 2023 that Mazzulla had three years remaining on his deal. It caused some to recently question whether that meant the 2025-26 season was Mazzulla’s final year under contract. It hadn’t been reported the Celtics extended him before Stevens revealed such information himself.

“I believe wholeheartedly in him (Mazzulla) and our staff and figuring out how to best maximize our team,” Stevens said.

Mazzulla was thrust into the head coaching spotlight after the unexpected suspension and exit of current Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka.

Mazzulla, who turns 37 years old on Monday, helped the Celtics to a 182-64 regular-season record during his first three seasons. He and the Celtics reached the NBA Finals and won the title in his second season behind the bench.

Mazzulla and the Green enter the upcoming season with a fair share of questions given Boston’s finances, which caused the franchise to trade Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis earlier this week, as well as the recovery of Jayson Tatum.

One area of certainty, however, is Mazzulla will remain under contract regardless of 2025-26 concludes.