Video: NBA fans struggle to name Joe Mazzulla based on his photo
A reporter showed fans photos of Mazzulla and asked them who it was. Answers ranged from Dell Curry to Ime Udoka.
It’s been five months since Joe Mazzulla took over for Ime Udoka on an interim basis in September. Since then, he’s coached in the NBA All-Star game and had his interim tag removed, becoming the 19th head coach in Celtics history.
By now, Celtics fans know what he looks like. But, how about fans of other teams? Would they recognize Boston’s coach based off of his picture?
When asked to estimate what percentage of people would be able to correctly identify him via photo, Mazzulla shook his head, shrugged, and said “thirty [percent], maybe?”
So, Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic polled NBA fans in Utah during All-Star weekend, showing photos of Mazzulla and fellow All-Star coach Michael Malone and asking them who they were.
The guesses for Mazzulla ranged from Indiana Pacers guard George Hill to Stephen Curry’s father Dell Curry to retired NBA big man Carlos Boozer.
One fan even mistook Mazzulla for Udoka.
One fan in the video correctly guessed Mazzulla, but mispronounced his name.
The 34-year-old coach is in his first NBA head coaching job, and had a stint as a Division III college coach in between assistant coaching stints with the Celtics and the then-Maine Red Claws.
Even though he’s officially head coach of the team with the NBA’s best record, some fans still have trouble recognizing him. Maybe a deep postseason run would help change that.
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