Former Mountaineer Joe Mazzulla leads Boston Celtics to NBA championship

BOSTON (WCHS) — A former Mountaineer basketball standout can now call himself an NBA champion head coach.

Joe Mazzulla led the Boston Celtics to an 18th NBA title Friday in a 4-1 series win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Mazzulla starred at West Virginia from 2006-11, helping the team to a Final Four appearance in 2010.

Following his playing career in Morgantown, Mazzulla moved on to coach Glenville State as an assistant.

He spent seven years assisting at Glenville, Fairmont State and Maine before returning to Fairmont State as a head coach in 2017. Mazzulla served two years as a head coach before moving up to the NBA, working as an assistant in the Celtics organization.

Mazzulla was named interim head coach following the suspension of Ime Udoka. He quickly earned the head coaching position, but the Celtics dropped the 2023 conference finals to the Miami Heat.

In his second season leading the Celtics, Mazzulla's team eclipsed 60 wins, helping Boston claim the No. 1 seed. The team knocked out the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers on the way to the Finals.