No Boston Celtics player (or coach) is found on any of the NBA’s shortlists of finalists for its most coveted individual awards this season, which their fans called out on social media.
Complete list of 2023-24 awards finalists pic.twitter.com/ao7xOdZpwg
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 21, 2024
However, if you ask head coach Joe Mazzulla, this doesn’t bother him one bit, as he said that his team is focused on the bigger prize, which is winning Banner No. 18 this season.
“No, not at all,” Mazzulla said via Zack Cox on X (formerly known as Twitter). “I think it’s beautiful. Why would you get an award for the past?”
Joe Mazzulla is no stranger to sharing snarky or funny responses when being interviewed, as when he was also asked about Caleb Martin’s hard foul on Jayson Tatum in Game 1 on Sunday, the 35-year-old tactician bared that he was “kind of excited about the whole situation” and that he “enjoyed” watching it.
Boston Celtics have their eyes on the big prize
Despite having the most number of championships in NBA history alongside the Los Angeles Lakers, with 17 apiece, the Boston Celtics are often ridiculed for winning only one in the last 38 years. Their last title was in 2008, the first year when Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen joined forces.
The Boston Celtics came close to winning Banner No. 18 in 2010 and 2022. But they came up short both times, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat them in seven games in 2010 while the Golden State Warriors won in six games in 2022.
This season, the Boston Celtics dominated the regular season, finishing with a 64-18 record, giving them homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
But to get to their 18th championship, the Boston Celtics will first have to go through the gritty Miami Heat team that’s without Jimmy Butler. Right now, they are up 1-0 in their first-round playoff series.