Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and guard Derrick White spent the first of their two nights off at TD Garden — but not for basketball. Instead, the pair sat ringside for WWE’s Monday Night Raw.
“I just like learning,” Mazzulla told reporters at Tuesday’s practice, per CLNS Media. “Anytime you can step into someone else’s arena and learn from them, I think you can always take something.”
During the live show, Mazzulla and White were introduced to the crowd. White greeted Boston with a wave, while
Mazzulla sneak-attacked him with a few playful, wrestling-style punches. The moment quickly went viral on social media, as what was meant to be a family outing for the Mazzullas and Whites turned into an unforeseen heel turn.
“It’s all part of the storyline,” White told reporters, per CLNS Media. “WrestleMania’s coming up soon, so that’s when our big fight will be.”
For Mazzulla, an MMA enthusiast who occasionally trains at the team’s practice facility, watching the world’s biggest professional wrestling stars is right up his alley. Growing up in Rhode Island with deep family ties to basketball — his father, Dan Mazzulla, coached at Johnston High School — Mazzulla didn’t limit himself to the sport. At times, he’d flip on WWE instead.
So with the Celtics off until hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, the timing was perfect to revisit that childhood interest and spend time outside basketball with White and their families.
“I grew up as a kid watching it,” Mazzulla shared with reporters. “I was able to have a family night, take the kids there, hang out with D. White. It was a good time.”
Over the years, White has watched Mazzulla’s interest in mixed martial arts evolve from a hobby into an outlet for lessons he brings into the Celtics’ locker room. White is happy to listen, though he keeps his distance, whenever Mazzulla suits up for a training session.
“I try to stay away,” White added. “He was doing all that MMA stuff.”
Sitting beneath the rafters where the banner they helped raise hangs, Mazzulla and White enjoyed a night where basketball took a backseat. Their bond comes from a genuine friendship, not a forced workplace relationship. And as an authority figure in White’s professional life, Mazzulla doesn’t see himself as a boss or manager. He sees White instead as a friend and the Celtics as a family — not just a collection of coworkers.
“I don’t consider myself a boss, and I don’t consider Derrick an employee with all due respect,” Mazzulla clarified. “It’s not how we operate. I think it’s more about relationships and the people that you have.”
White, too, shares Mazzulla’s sentiment.
“It was a lot of fun,” White told reporters. “I think just spending time off the court and his family was there, my family was there, so just bonding. I think that goes deeper than basketball. So it’s always cool to do things like that.”
It’s been over four years since the Celtics acquired White in a trade from the San Antonio Spurs, and in that time, his relationship with Mazzulla has only grown stronger. White has progressed from backup to one of the league’s most elite two-way guards. Mazzulla has gone from assistant to head coach, helping the Celtics maintain their high standard, all while developing talent at a rapid pace.
“For the most part, I think every year, the longer you’re with him, the bigger the bond grows,” White told reporters. “I don’t know if we did anything our first year he was coaching, but I think every year we do some stuff like that, and I just happened to be on national television.”
