Joe Mazzulla uses animal kingdom analogy to argue against his Celtics defending NBA title in 'passive-aggressive' manner

The Boston Celtics enter the upcoming season as defending champions following a 16-year title drought. With several teams ready to block Bean Town's road to another ring, coach Joe Mazzulla argues against protecting his crown with a passive-aggressive mindset. Instead, he wants his team to begin its latest season as attackers.

In its recent postseason journey, Boston faced the Heat, Cavaliers, Pacers and Mavericks to secure its first title in the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era. With an opportunity to repeat as champs, Mazzulla envisions his team retaining its edge. The coach offered these words during his latest Locked on Celtics podcast interview.

"The phrase ' defending a title' is a very passive-aggressive term. If you look at the animal kingdom, some of the strongest animals don't defend; they're the most aggressive, and they attack the most."

Throughout Boston's 2024 championship run, the Celtics only lost three games during an outstanding playoff showing. Numerous teams tweaked their rosters to challenge the C's last spring. Mazzulla wants his team to maintain its hunger from last season in similar situations this fall.

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Celtics star Jayson Tatum prefers that his team focuses on internal improvements instead of simply winning games

Winning in the NBA is a challenge. The same can be said for growing as a player. Heading into this upcoming season, Jayson Tatum acknowledged how difficult and fulfilling it was to win a championship.

As he stated on the CBS Morning Show, Tatum looks forward to growing alongside his teammates in addition to winning ball games.

"... it was extremely tough to win the championship." "But I'm super proud of what we were able to accomplish. To come into the next season and just say we're going to do it again would be insensitive. I think that a lot has to go right and our mindset is not let's win the championship again. Let's start over. Let's get better every single day ..."

Boston Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis celebrating NBA Finals championship victory- Source: Imagn

Since his NBA debut, Tatum has grown as a player and winner. However, he had to offer more than his scoring ability to deliver another championship to Boston.

The same can be said for his partner, Jaylen Brown. The All Star became a vastly different player during the team's playoff run compared to prior years.

The duo's emergence, alongside a capable supporting cast, showed just how much the Celtics have grown as a collective unit.