Joe Mazzulla has had numerous unique interactions with the media throughout his tenure as the Boston Celtics’ head coach.
But Tuesday took the relationship between reporter and subject to a new level, as the Celtics coaching staff faced the team’s beat reporters in a surprise scrimmage.
As they arrived at the Auerbach Center, members of the local press were under the impression they would be facing each other in an annual exhibition. That, however, was before Mazzulla surprised the media members by informing them that their scrimmage would actually be against the Boston coaching staff.
“I don’t know how to break it to you, but you’re not playing against each other — you’re playing against the coaches,” the 2024 NBA champion said as he ended his press availability.
Noa Dalzell detailed the experience for SBNation’s Celtics Blog. And it went just about how you probably figured it would have, with the Celtics coaching staff consisting of two former NBA players in Phil Pressey and DaSean Butler, as well as four former college basketball stars in God Shammgod Jr. (Fairmont State), Amile Jefferson (Duke), Tony Dobbins (Richmond), DJ MacLeay (Bucknell) and Mazzulla (West Virginia).
In her story’s headline, Dalzell shares that the coaches won by 53 points. Only the coaches’ performance was somehow more dominant than the final margin might have indicated, as evidenced by the 57-4 final score.
“To describe it as a disaster for us reporters would be an understatement,” Dalzell wrote. “The sheer gap in athleticism — speed, size, instincts, you name it — felt so insurmountable that I can hardly pinpoint what even went down. I’d love to take a look at a box score, but the amount of live-ball turnovers we accrued would probably make me sick.”
Dalzell also noted that Shammgod Jr. — the son of the former McDonald’s High School All-American and Washington Wizards guard — was especially lights out shooting. As for the media, Forbes’ Bobby Krivitisky and Boston.com’s Khari Thompson each successfully completed layups, which comprised the entirety of Team Media’s scoring output.
Yet despite the lopsided outcome, Dalzell — a former high school a basketball player — viewed the entire experience as a positive one.
“Every day, I pinch myself on my way to ‘work’ because I still can’t fathom that ‘work’ means watching basketball, talking about basketball, and writing about basketball. I’m confident that the gratitude will never fade,” she wrote. “Celtics Coaches vs Celtics Media was probably the most lopsided game of basketball I’ll ever partake in. It was also the time of my life. I can only hope we do it again.”
If Mazzulla’s history with the media is any indication, it’s a safe bet she’ll get her wish.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.