Joe Mazzulla Explains Celtics' Coaches vs. Media Scrimmage, Says It Was 'Important'

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla says Tuesday's pickup game between coaches and media was no laughing matter.

Clips of the game, in which media members were outscored 57-4, went viral as commenters reacted to Mazzulla's decision to pit reporters against a team stocked with former NBA and college basketball players.

"It'll be laughed at and joked about, but it means a lot more to humanize. We have too many interactions where it's coach and everyone's doing their job," Mazzulla told reporters Thursday, per Celtics Blog's Noa Dalzell.

Mazzulla continued, "So if anything, we have to do it more, because it humanizes the competition, and I realize how much you guys really like the game and care about it, so I hope that it doesn't drag on as something that's funny, it's something that was serious.

"I meant that, and that was important that we did that yesterday. And we'll do it again."

In her story recounting the game, Dalzell described the dominance displayed by Mazzulla and his teammates including former NBA players Phil Pressey and Da'Sean Butler.

"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."

But Mazzulla pointed to what he described as a "shove" by Boston Sports Journal's John Karalis on Hardwood Houdini's Jack Simone as an example of what media members and the Celtics coaches had in common.

"It's no different than me getting pissed at [Simone's] question the other day," Mazzulla said, per Dalzell. "It's a competitive reaction to the thing that's going on."

According to Dalzell, Tuesday's pickup game was originally scheduled to only be played between media members. If Mazzulla's comments are any indication, there could now be more media-coaches matchups in the future.

Mazzulla will now turn his attention to the start of the 2025-26 regular season, which his team will be entering without injured star Jayson Tatum. Jaylen Brown will be set to lead the Celtics into next Wednesday's season opener against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.