What Joe Mazzulla tells the Celtics about handling criticism originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
After leading the Boston Celtics to the 2024 NBA championship, an excited Jayson Tatum addressed his critics by asking, “What are they going to say now?”
He has since discovered that even a dominant title run cannot calm down the naysayers.
Tatum was the subject of heated debate on former NBAer Gilbert Arenas’ podcast. During the discussion, former NBA guard Brandon Jennings called Tatum “the sweetest superstar in Celtics history.”
The criticism was clearly aimed at Tatum, who responded with a post on Instagram. C’s coach Joe Mazzulla approached the problem in vintage Mazzulla fashion the next day on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak and Bertrand.
Mazzulla spoke about it again before Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, highlighting what he tells his players about managing noise even after winning a championship.
“I think there are many examples of sports that humiliate you,” Mazzulla said. “You see people lose and go through tough times where they’re criticized, and then two months later they win, and then it’s like, ‘Oh, look at that.’ And then you see situations where people win and then how many coaches – Dwane Casey was fired after winning coach of the year, two or three coaches were in the finals.
“So there are a lot of examples that keep you humble in sports to the point where you just can’t get caught up in the emotional rollercoaster of the fact that you’re either untouchable or you’re, you know, there -low. So I think the most important thing is just to maintain a level of perspective that no matter what you do, there’s always going to be good and bad. And if you’re just living in the space where. you do what you do, it’s a bit like that’s what you should do about it.”
Whether it’s praise or criticism, Mazzulla would prefer the C’s ignore any outside noise. He used past criticism from a former NBA “great” to show his team how little other people’s opinions matter.
“I don’t want them to believe all the positive or negative things, because both can be detrimental and neither of them are really important,” he said. “I think about what they think of themselves, what I think of them, what the team thinks, what the people closest to them think – but if anyone ‘one came out and said he was the toughest ever, that could just be like detrimental if you decide to believe that and not use it to your advantage, right?
“So don’t put too much weight on praise or criticism because ultimately it’s fleeting. You have to have perspective. But one thing I did for them was give them the timeline of a certain player in the past career, which was great and I gave them a timeline like, “Here’s what was said about him at the beginning, here’s what was said in the middle, here’s what. was said at the end”, and it was comical in the face to the back and forth of opinions. But you’re just trying to lose perspective because every player has been through something, you’re going to get through that, so as long as you maintain a level of perspective on that, it’s. the most important thing.
Would Mazzulla be willing to share which player he used as an example?
“No, but it’s hysterical to see what people say at different points in his career,” he replied. “And if they could be held accountable for that, that would be great.”
Tatum and the Celtics will once again look to silence their critics when they return home to face the red-hot Kings. Sacramento begins a five-game winning streak.
