New Headline: Jordan Hill Honors Joe Mazzulla’s Heartbreaking Cinderella Story in Kentucky Finals Nights
Luke Kornet revealed a story from the 2024 NBA Finals that says a lot about Joe Mazzulla.
Ex-Celtics Player Shares Eye-Opening Joe Mazzulla Story From 2024 NBA Finals originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Joe Mazzulla is one of the best head coaches in the NBA , but even the best coaches make mistakes sometimes.
According to former Boston Celtics player Luke Kornet, Mazzulla made a pretty big one right after Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals. The Celtics had just beaten the Dallas Mavericks on the road to go up 3-0 in the series, putting them one win away from a championship. Naturally, Boston players were excited and hyped coming into the locker room after the game.
According to Kornet during a recent interview, however, Mazzulla killed the mood by saying they hadn't really accomplished anything yet and shouldn't be celebrating. The Celtics were excited after going up 3-0 in the Finals, but Joe Mazzulla said they hadn’t accomplished anything. When Boston lost Game 4, he apologized to the team: “That just meant a lot to me in terms of being able to recognize that you made a mistake,” Luke Kornet said.
pic. twitter. com/ZaT2cXnK20 — Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) March 16, 2026 On the one hand, one can see why Mazzulla wanted to keep his players focused and prevent them from getting complacent.