Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla reveals ’empty’ reaction to winning 2024 NBA Championship

Joe Mazzulla had a stunning statement towards how he felt about the 2024 championship run after the Boston Celtics’ series loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2026 NBA playoffs on Saturday night.

Boston boasted an incredible roster in the 2023-24 campaign. They had Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown headlining the unit while Derrick White, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis rounded out the stacked core. Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser also had their moments in the rotation, allowing Boston to have incredible depth.

That squad dominated the regular season with a 64-18 record to show for it. Not only that, but they also walked the walk by taking down the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, and Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs to win the championship.

Mazzulla led that squad and earned the first NBA title of his young head coaching career. Despite achieving the incredible accomplishment, the Celtics coach had a strange statement towards his emotions about the title win after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the 76ers this year.

“The year we won, I felt just as empty as I did when we lost,” Mazzulla said after the Game 7 loss, per reporter Daniel Donabedian.

Joe Mazzulla with some interesting comments on duality and how to navigate blowing a 3-1 lead:

“The year we won, I felt just as empty as I did when we lost.” pic.twitter.com/zkhcsMTEfY

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) May 3, 2026

How Joe Mazzulla, Celtics performed against 76ers

Celtics fans will look sideways toward that comment, hoping that Joe Mazzulla is being sarcastic about the title run and is not actually being emotionless towards that historic run. In the meantime, they are going through heartbreak after seeing Boston fall to rivals Philadelphia in the Game 7 loss.

Boston had to play Game 7 without Jayson Tatum due to knee soreness. They put up a valiant effort throughout stretches of the game but couldn’t get the 3 ball to go down consistently as it greatly cost them in the final minutes of regulation.

Five players scored in double-digits for Boston in the loss. Jaylen Brown led the team with 33 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. Derrick White came next with 26 points and six rebounds, Neemias Queta had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Payton Pritchard put up 13 points and seven assists, while Sam Hauser provided 11 points and three rebounds.

The Celtics will look to regroup in the offseason. They look forward to having Tatum be fully healthy next season but will need to address the roster to elevate their chances of being title contenders once again.

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