(LifeSiteNews) — While news of a massive gambling scandal in the NBA is making headlines across the world, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla serves as a reminder that not everything in professional sports is lost.
Mazzulla appeared on the Dominican Friars’ “Godsplaining” podcast recently with host Father Joseph-Anthony Kress, O.P.
Mazzulla, who is only 37 years old, has witnessed to his Catholic faith multiple times over the past several seasons.
During a press conference after a game in 2022 when Prince William and Kate Middleton sat courtside, Mazzulla was asked, “Did you get a chance to meet with the royal family?”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph?” he replied with a straight face.
The reporter who asked the question chuckled before clarifying that she was talking about “the Prince and Princess of Wales.”
“Oh, no, I did not. I’m only familiar with one royal family. I don’t know too much about that one,” Mazzulla retorted, as reporters sat in awe.
In 2024, after his team won the franchise’s record 18th championship, Mazzulla put on a t-shirt for postgame interviews that read, “But first … let me thank God.”
Given these bold testimonies to his faith, it shouldn’t be all that surprising to learn that Mazzulla was on the “Godsplaining” podcast in the first place.
What is surprising is what Mazzulla revealed near the end of the show.
After being asked what his “next professional goal” is, he responded, “So I just became eligible to be a deacon, which I’ve always wanted to do. There we go. I’ve been thinking about that.”
What an uplifting answer. How many young men, let alone well-to-do coaches and players in professional sports, think about giving their life to God?
What Mazulla told Fr. Kress next was equally impressive.
“I think winning has been scarier for me because I am like wrestling with God. Like, do I get greedy and want more? How do you find the space of wanting more, yet being grateful for what God has given you?” he wondered.
“Because my biggest fear is, 10 years from now, I wake up and I am the rich young ruler,” he continued. “And life has passed me by, and I am not willing to give up my treasures on this earth because I have given everything I had to a worldliness.”
This is at the heart of what being a Christian is all about. This life is simply a preparation for eternity. Everything we have here — money, fame, power — fades away. Mazulla obviously understands that.
Fr. Kress also asked Coach Mazzulla about his “Catholic upbringing” and how he prays the Rosary before games.
“I was very fortunate, mainly because I just grew up in an environment where faith and Catholicism was a normal part of life. I grew up half a mile down from a church. I went to church on Sundays and went to Catholic school, K-12th grade,” Mazzulla said.
“If we all look at our life as a testimony,” he continued, “I think God puts people into your life for particular moments, whether it’s one day, one year, whether it’s three to five years. And so, how can you impact that person in the time that you have with that person? How can you use the gifts that God has given you for the time that you have? So I think then you have a few relationships that are long-lasting and go beyond time. You never want to take for granted the time you have to invest in someone.”
This is undoubtedly true. Someone once told me that we go through “seasons of friendships” as we get older. I think that’s a powerful insight. It doesn’t mean that we lose those friends but rather those relationships sometimes take on different colors, just like how the leaves change in autumn.
Mazzulla also shared how praying the Rosary has become part of his life.
“It’s something that I cherish doing. I think it’s important to have a perspective of God gave me my dream job at a very young age, so how can you live it to the fullest but also try to be as present as you can. Just combining my favorite things: basketball, Rosary, the Celtics, just having that pregame ritual keeps you centered and grounded on the opportunity and responsibility that God has given you.”
How can you not be moved by that?
We should all hope Coach Mazzulla continues to have success on and off the court, most especially in his journey to serve God in the way He wants him to.
