Joe Mazzulla made waves in the NBA when he had his coaching staff play a scrimmage against the Boston Celtics media. One reporter who took part in the special matchup gave her thoughts on the experience.
The game between the Celtics coaches and media went viral in the sports world, as the former dominated the latter in a 57-4 blowout. It was clear that Mazzulla and his coaching staff outmatched the media participants in every area of the game, but that wasn't why they decided to set the matchup.
Noa Dalzell, who covers the Celtics on behalf of SB Nation's CelticsBlog, reflected on the experience during her interview on ESPN's Vibe Check on Friday. She described playing in the game as a “dream come true” and highlighted her opportunities to guard Mazzulla.
“This is just so cool to be able to compete with somebody like him that I've only ever seen from the perspective of how he's coaching on the sidelines. And then, as you see in this clip afterwards, we played a media vs media game, so we still got that fun in but for me, it was just such a dream come true. As somebody who grew up in Boston, grew up driving past the Celtics practice facility all the time, to actually be able to compete there was just incredible,” Dalzell said.
“[Mazzulla] doesn't treat every media member the same, like he understands that we're all different, and he has formed different relationships with each of us. So this was an opportunity to kind of see that more informal side of him that the players know, that members of the organization know.”
Made my ESPN debut 🤠
(And you can probably guess what about) pic.twitter.com/M3PDrXyKes
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 17, 2025
What lies ahead for Joe Mazzulla, Celtics
Having a matchup between the coaches and media was unheard of in the NBA world. Joe Mazzulla ended that silence with a viral, amusing, and bonding moment between him and the coaching staff with the Celtics reporters.
Moments like those are rare in life, especially between sports teams and media. Professionalism often keeps the two at a distance, but it was clear there are opportunities for both parties to understand each other more clearly. That is something Mazzulla understood fully well, which allowed this game to be memorable for all the right reasons.
In the meantime, Mazzulla and the Celtics wrapped up their preseason schedule as they gear up for the 2025-26 regular season. They will be at home when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
