Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla isn’t a fan of the phrase “defending champions,” even if that’s what his team is. “Defending a title” is commonly used to describe the previous season’s champion, but Mazzulla feels it’s not aggressive enough, and it’s not the mindset he wants his team to have when the 2024-25 NBA season starts.
“The phrase ‘defending a title’ is a very passive-aggressive term,” Mazzulla said on the Locked on Celtics podcast. “If you look at the animal kingdom, some of the strongest animals don’t defend; they’re the most aggressive, and they attack the most. Whether you’ve won or haven’t won, your mindset can’t change. You have to understand what goes into winning and losing, commit to the details on a daily basis, and remain aggressive. You’re not defending something, you’re attacking a new goal.”
After beating the Dallas Mavericks in six games in June to win the Celtics’ first title since 2008, Boston will enter the upcoming season as the team everyone else in the NBA is chasing. But Mazzulla wants his team to be on the attack, a smart mindset when you consider no team in the NBA has gone back-to-back in championships since the 2017/2018 Warriors.
“People are gonna say the target is on our backs, but I hope it’s right on our forehead in between our eyes,” Mazzulla said.
The Celtics are favored to repeat as champions given they’re returning all the key players who helped them lift the Larry O’Brien trophy in June. They signed Jayson Tatum to a contract extension, they already took care of an extension for Jrue Holiday before the postseason began. Derrick White got an extension and so did Sam Hauser. There isn’t a weakness on this team, just like there wasn’t one last season, and even with Eastern Conference foes like the 76ers and Knicks making major upgrades, a ticket to the NBA Finals still goes through Boston.
Going back-to-back will be difficult, and the Celtics can bet that every team will be out to get them. But with Mazzulla’s mindset, it doesn’t sound like opposing teams can rely on Boston letting off the gas or losing sight of the goal just because the team won it all last season. The Celtics will have their first test as soon as the season starts on Oct. 22, as they’ll face off against the Knicks right after raising their 18th banner inside TD Garden and getting their championship rings.