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Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has talked up the similarities between his coaching journey and that of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, saying he used the Catalan coach’s career as a “roadmap.”
Both Mazzulla and Guardiola were promoted from relative obscurity into their first senior head coaching role — Mazzulla at the Celtics after Ime Udoka’s suspension ahead of the 2022-23 season, and Guardiola by Barcelona from their reserve team setup after the unsuccessful end to Frank Rijkaard’s tenure in 2008 that saw the club finish third in LaLiga, 18 points behind rivals Real Madrid at the summit.
“Obviously, nowhere near the manager that Pep is but we share a similar beginning,” Mazzulla said in interview with Men in Blazers. “He was coaching Barcelona’s B team, I was in Maine’s G League team, and they could have easily gone for a bigger name, but they go to this guy sitting on the back bench with no experience.
“It became really a roadmap to how I wanted to go about building a culture, a team, and you know, taking over greatness. You take a look at his tactical ability, his abilty to manage the best players, which I think is what separates coaches in any sport — that’s something that I thought I could really learn from.”
While Guardiola has been an established coach for considerably longer than his American counterpart — picking up three LaLiga titles with Barça, seven Premier League triumphs in England with City, three Bundesliga wins with Bayern Munich along with three Champions League successes in that time — Mazzulla has quickly become one of the NBA’s most respected coaches after claiming the championship in just his second full season last year.
Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks in June, Mazzulla was seen speaking to the Spaniard on the court at the TD Garden, and the pair also met at City’s training ground in February of that year.
“The biggest thing I wanted to take from him was: What’s it like before you win? What are the challeneges that come with winning the first one? And what are you like now that you’ve won,” Mazzulla continued.
“He has seen all those steps, and it just gives you great perspective as to: Okay, if you’re gonna do this for a long time, here’s what to expect, here’s how to adapt and here’s how to look at it.
“So I just thought it was someone who could really help me and so I appreciate his humility and it has been a fun journey, kind of building a relationship with him.”
The Celtics remain the title favourites for the 2025 championship despite sitting 5½ games back from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, while City are in the midst of a turbulent season that has seen them almost certainly lose their grip on the Premier League after four straight titles and on the brink of a Champions League exit before the round of 16.
