Celtics' Joe Mazzulla Draws Strong Criticism for Coach of the Year Win
The Boston Celtics finished their season better than many expected, achieving a 56-26 record and securing the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, despite missing their superstar Jayson Tatum for most of the season.
Many individuals believed the team might struggle without Tatum, but the recent NBA award voting sent a message about the leadership of head coach Joe Mazzulla.
On Tuesday night, ahead of Game 5 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, NBC and Peacock’s Maria Taylor announced that Mazzula won the 2026 NBA Coach of the Year.
Mazulla defeated several other top coaches who led their squads to impressive seasons, including the Detroit Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff and the San Antonio Spurs’ Mitch Johnson.
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The NBA revealed the final voting tallies for all of the coaches contending for this past season’s award. Mazulla received 62 first-place votes, 24 second-place votes, and 10 third-place votes, giving him 392 total points to claim the award.
That was 80 points better than the Pistons’ Bickerstaff, who received 29 first-place votes, 51 second-place votes, and 14 third-place votes.
The Spurs’ Johnson, who is still competing in the postseason with the Spurs, received 133 points with nine first-place votes, 17 second-place votes, and 37 third-place votes.
Understandably, fans had plenty of criticism regarding this year’s winner, much like many other awards and season honors.
Without Tatum for all but 16 games, Mazzulla still had a top-tier All-Star playing for his roster, Jaylen Brown, who recently earned All-NBA Second Team honors. In addition, Mazzulla had Derrick White on the team, another top star, who earned All-NBA First Defensive Team honors last week.
“This award should be done after the finals, Mazzulla blew a 3-1 lead and won Lmaoo,” one commenter suggested.
“And they are where in the playoffs? Oh wait. They lost in the first round. I got it,” someone wrote about the Celtics as a reply to ESPN’s X announcement.
Another said in the replies, “Just my opinion but JB Bickerstaff/Mitch Johnson were definitely deserving of this award over Mazzulla.”
Commenters said of the Pistons coach losing to Mazulla: “Highway robbery. Bickerstaff deserved,” and “Shoulda been Bickerstaff and everyone knows it.”
“Mitch takes a team not even thought to be in the play in to 62 wins and he gets 3rd smh,” a commenter said.
Others felt that New York Knicks coach Mike Brown deserved more attention, commenting, “Is it me or Mike brown not even in the list ?” and “damn no one was feeling mike brown?”
After seemingly overachieving in the regular season, the Celtics felt it was a serious disappointment in the postseason. They went in with the No. 2 seed, home court advantage, and Jayson Tatum back in the lineup for the majority of their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
However, the 76ers, who saw the return of big man Joel Embiid, managed to remain competitive, force a full seven games, and win Game 7 on the Celtics’ home court. Among the losses, many cited the Celtics’ overreliance on 3-pointers, rather than taking other shots when necessary.
With that came criticism over Mazulla’s coaching, and it seems that is continuing now that he’s received the award. Meanwhile, other coaches took their teams farther, including the second and third-place contenders in this year’s COY race.
It seems Mazzulla should give all the credit to Brown, White, and other members of the roster for playing well, rather than treating this award as recognition of what he accomplished as a coach.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 7:53 PM.