Joe Mazzulla drops an all-time quote when asked about pressure on 2024-25 Celtics

"We're all going to be dead soon, and it really doesn't matter anymore, so there's zero pressure."

Joe Mazzulla has delivered plenty of memorable quotes since taking over as the Celtics' head coach. (Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff)

By Conor Ryan

October 21, 2024

3 minutes to read

Joe Mazzulla is no stranger to making headlines while fielding questions from the media.

And ahead of the start of the Celtics’ title defense during the 2024-25 season, Boston’s head coach didn’t mince words when asked about the pressure facing the reigning champions.

“Zero. No pressure,” Mazzulla said Monday afternoon at the Auerbach Center. “We’re all going to be dead soon, and it really doesn’t matter anymore, so there’s zero pressure. You’re either gonna win or you’re not. And when you win, you try to forget about it a week later and when you lose, you try to forget about it a week later. So it’s not pressure, it’s an opportunity. We have an opportunity here over the next few years, however long that we’re together.

“I’ve said this in the past, you have an opportunity to carry the organization forward, to double down on the tradition and history of what this organization has. And what else would you expect than someone expecting you to win all the time? I wouldn’t want someone expecting me to lose all the time. That would be debilitating. So we have an expectation to win.”

Mazzulla has not been one to shirk away from the high expectations placed on his team after it secured its sought-after 18th championship.

And while Mazzulla’s focus revolves around getting his team ready for a stronger field in the Eastern Conference in 2024-24, he isn’t paying much attention to the outside noise — especially from the media.

“A Boston media member or somebody expecting me to win, they don’t have a weapon. They’re not gonna come after me if we don’t win,” Mazzulla said. “They’re saying words. So like, they don’t mean anything. They’re just words. You’re just saying them because you have to say them. You’re contractually obligated to write a 500-word article after. They’re just words, you can’t do anything. So (pressure is) just a made-up word. We don’t have pressure. If we lose, we aren’t losing our life.

“We’re not surgeons, we’re not in the military, we coach basketball for a living. No one’s putting more pressure and expectations than we are on ourselves. We have a responsibility and we have ownership. I ask guys all the time, would you rather have someone expect you to lose or win? Like, if you came up here and were like, ‘I really expected you to lose that game,’ I would be pissed. But if you come up to me like, ‘You should’ve won that game,’ it’s like, yeah, that’s what we signed up for. So I think it’s just the perspective of how you look at it.”

Of course, tuning out the noise is easier said than done — as evidenced by the current firestorm that Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is dealing with after his candid comments about his team on Sunday.

But Mazzulla remained resolute when pressed about whether or not words have power, be it through the media or other avenues.

“No, they don’t,” Mazzulla said. “If you let them, if you allow words to take your personal power, then yes. So I don’t allow words to take my personal power. That’s just important. Words don’t have power. They only have power if you allow them to.

“That’s what I try to teach my kids is, I don’t give a (expletive) what someone says to you, did you allow that to have an impact on you? Like, he didn’t put his hands on you, he didn’t touch you, he didn’t do anything. He said something to you. So now you have a choice to decide how you’re going to interpret that.

“So it’s not pressure. There’s nothing anyone in this circle can do to me that’s gonna impact my identity and who I am as a person or a coach. We’re either gonna win or we’re not, and 40 years from now, none of you are invited to my funeral and that’s it.”

Mazzulla and the Celtics will officially tip-off on a new season Tuesday night when they host the New York Knicks at TD Garden.