Johnston Native Joe Mazzulla Will Coach At NBA All-Star Game

JOHNSTON, RI — A Johnston native who rose from assistant coach to the NBA's youngest head coach this season is headed to the All-Star Game with the Boston Celtics, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Joe Mazzulla, 34, and his Celtics staff of assistants clinched the chance to coach Team Giannis — the team that will be captained by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo — in the Feb. 19 game at Salt Lake City after Philadelphia lost to Orlando Monday. The loss ensured that Boston would have the leading record in the Eastern Conference by Sunday's end.

Mazzulla has the Celtics off to an NBA-best record of 36-15 so far this season.

“It definitely hasn’t been easy the whole time,” Mazzulla said last week when asked about the challenges of the season to this point. “But it’s been fun. It’s been rewarding.”

According to a biography provided by the National Basketball Coaches Association, Mazzulla started his coaching career by spending two seasons as an Assistant Coach at Glenville State. After successful coaching stints at Fairmont State University and the NBA G League’s Maine Red Claws, Mazzulla joined the Celtics staff in 2019 as an Assistant Coach and helped lead the team to the 2022 NBA Finals before being promoted to Interim Head Coach in Sept. 2022.

Joe Mazzulla was born on June 30, 1988, in Johnston, RI, his biography said. He attended Bishop Hendricken High School and played for and graduated from West Virginia University. Mazzulla advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four years and was named to the Big East Academic All-Star Team three times.

Coach Mazzulla and his wife, Camai, have two children, Michael and Emmanuel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.