BOSTON – After the Boston Celtics won Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, it seemed as if they were on the verge of basketball immortality. But, according to ex-Celtic and current San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla did not behave as if this was the case.
Instead, he played down the big win in the locker room and told his players via "The White Noise Podcast" that they weren't done.
"We won that game in Dallas and went 3-0, which is a really big moment," Kornett recalled on a podcast run by former teammate and Celtics guard Derrick White. "So, we're back in the locker room and everybody's so excited and excited, and Joe came in and said something like, 'Why are we celebrating? We haven't really accomplished anything.'"
Kornet, White and the rest of the Celtics were soon reminded of this fact, as the Mavericks beat them in Game 4 during a 122–94 loss in Dallas.
After this disappointing defeat, which Kornet described as the Celtics' "defeat by a billion", Mazzulla approached his players with humility.
"At some point after that game, he apologized, acknowledging that he completely dampened the emotion in the room after Game 3 and that going up 3-0 is a very important part of trying to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish," Cornette said.
The Celtics were excited after going 3–0 in the Finals, but Joe Mazzulla said they had accomplished nothing.
When Boston lost Game 4, he apologized to the team:
"It means a lot to me in terms of being able to recognize that you made a mistake," Luke Cornett said. pic.twitter.com/ZaT2cXnK20
- Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) 16 March 2026
While Cornette could regale White with many funny, larger-than-life stories about Mazzulla, he said this memory with his former captain was one of his favorite memories.
Cornette said of Mazzulla's apology, "I think it means a lot to me, in terms of being able to recognize that you made a mistake." “I think what's great about Joe is he's willing to trust the process and the timing of things and the players.”
Mazzulla's words likely resonated with the rest of the Celtics, too, as they suppressed the Mavericks in Game 5 at TD Garden en route to their first championship in 15 years.
That title established Cornette and White as true winners, and it certainly helped the former ink a four-year, $40.7 million contract with the Spurs last summer.
When asked what he missed most about his reliable, 7-foot center in January, Mazzulla didn't mention anything basketball-related.
"The biggest thing that stands out about Luke is that I miss going to Mass with him," Mazzulla said before the Celtics' 100-95 loss at home to the Spurs. “We used to go to church across the street.”
Joe Mazzulla on Luke Cornette and what he brings to Boston:
“I miss going to prayer meetings with him.” pic.twitter.com/nolWkFsHqx
- Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) 10 January 2026
Although Mazzulla's bizarre (and often hilarious) quotes make headlines, it is his strong relationships with his players that truly define him. He also explains why he's in the running for Coach of the Year and explains how the 2025-26 Celtics, who were expected to stumble, are 44-23 heading into Tuesday night's showdown with the Phoenix Suns.
"It's funny when people say [Mazzulla's] "Crazy, and I think he's the smartest guy I've ever met," Cornette said, laughing.
