How Joe Mazzulla Steered the Celtics Through a "Drought" to 56 Wins

Read Time:2 Minute, 51 Second

When the 2025–26 NBA season tipped off last October, the vibes around the TD Garden were uncharacteristically somber. After a decade of sustained excellence, many experts predicted the “Celtics Dynasty” was entering a forced hibernation. Between a crippling salary cap crunch and a devastating injury to their franchise cornerstone, the script for this season was supposed to be a “rebuilding year.”

Instead, head coach Joe Mazzulla ripped up the script. As the regular season concluded this week, the Celtics finished with a staggering 56–26 record, clinching the Atlantic Division and securing the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Summer of Uncertainty

To understand why this season is so impressive, you have to look at what Mazzulla lost before the first whistle blew.

The Tatum Injury: Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the 2025 playoffs, an injury that sidelined him for nearly the entire 2025–26 regular season (he only returned on March 6).
The Roster Exodus: Due to salary cap constraints, the Celtics were forced to part ways with defensive anchor Jrue Holiday (traded to Portland), Kristaps Porzingis (traded to Atlanta), and veteran leaders Al Horford and Luke Kornet.

Preseason oddsmakers set the Celtics’ win total at 41.5, essentially predicting a .500 team that would be lucky to avoid the Play-In.

Mazzulla’s “Magic Touch”

Rather than leaning into the excuses, Mazzulla leaned into a new identity. He transformed the Celtics into the most disciplined defensive unit in the NBA, finishing the season ranked 1st in Opponent Points Per Game (107.2).

“He’s King Leonidas and his players are the 300 Spartans,” one analyst noted earlier this week. “Mazzulla doesn’t want anyone to break ranks. If they stick to their principles, they win.”

Mazzulla’s ability to develop “stay-ready” players became the story of the year. He took a roster of young talent and veteran castoffs—including Anfernee Simons (before he was traded for Nikola Vucevic), Luke Garza, and rookie Baylor Scheierman—and turned them into a cohesive winning machine.

Stat Category	2025-26 Season	NBA Rank
Record	56–26	2nd (East)
Defensive Rating	112.7	4th
Opponent PPG	107.2	1st
Net Rating	+8.1	4th

The Evolution of Jaylen Brown

Under Mazzulla’s guidance, Jaylen Brown evolved from a secondary star into a legitimate MVP candidate. Tasked with carrying the scoring load in Tatum’s absence, Brown averaged 28.7 points per game while taking on the vocal leadership role vacated by the team’s veterans.

Mazzulla’s December performance, where he led the team to a 9–3 record, earned him Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors for the fifth time in his career, cementing his status as the frontrunner for Coach of the Year.

The Road Ahead

With Jayson Tatum finally back in the rotation and the team firing on all cylinders, the Celtics are no longer the “scrappy underdog”—they are a legitimate title threat.

“You don’t always get promised to be on a 50-win team,” Jaylen Brown said this week. “We stayed in the fight when people said we were done.”

The Bottom Line: Joe Mazzulla didn’t just keep the Celtics afloat; he proved that a culture of discipline and humility can outweigh lost star power. As the playoffs begin this weekend against the winner of the Magic/76ers Play-In, the rest of the league is officially on notice: The Celtics’ “drought” never actually happened.