Joe Mazzulla Will Coach Team Giannis in NBA All-Star Game
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla will coach Team Giannis in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game next month in Salt Lake City.
Mazzulla, a former West Virginia player, became the coach of the Celtics last year after The Celtics suspended Ime Udoka due to a violation of the team’s code of conduct policy. Udoka was suspended for the 2022-23 season.
Because the Celtics finished the first half of the NBA season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, Mazzulla and his staff will serve as the coaching staff for Team Giannis, named for Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He is the third first-year coach to lead an All-Star team in the last 24 seasons.
Mazzulla played for the Mountaineers from 2006-2011 and helped them win the 2007 NIT title under then-head coach John Beilein. He also helped the Mountaineers upset Duke in the 2008 NCAA Tournament with a near-triple-double — 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
After an injury redshirt season in 2008-09, he returned to the Mountaineers to help them reach the 2010 Final Four under coach Bob Huggins, including a 17-point game in the Mountaineers’ Elite Eight win over Kentucky.
Mazzulla’s WVU career included 700 points and dished out 340 assists.
He worked his way up the coaching ranks, eventually earning the head-coaching job at Division II Fairmont State in 2017. In two seasons he went 47-17 and took FSU to one NCAA Tournament.
He joined the Boston staff in 2019. He was on the staff when the Celtics reached the NBA Finals last season, falling to the Golden State Warriors.
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