The head coach of the victorious NBA champion Boston Celtics took inspiration from the Premier League’s winningest manager in beating the Dallas Mavericks.
Rhode Island native Joe Mazzulla, who just won an NBA title with the Celtics, has publicly credited Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola with his help.
Speaking to reporters after the Celtics won Game 5, he pointed to Guardiola helping him in the transition game.
“Dallas has one of the smartest defenses,” Mazzulla told reporters. “We had to be creative to counter them.”
The winning coach of the final added: ‘Pep [Guardiola] helped me with transitions and how to get guys moving.”
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla (center) credited Pep Guardiola for his advice
Guardiola, who was at Game 1, helped Mazzulla with the transition defense, the Celtics coach said
Guardiola was seen on the court for Game 1 of the NBA Finals – a game the Celtics won on their home court.
Boston then dominated in Games 2 and 3 to take a commanding 3–0 series lead.
They followed that up by getting blown out by Dallas in one of the most lopsided defeats in NBA Finals history.
But on Monday night, Boston came out on top and returned the favor, beating the Mavericks by 18 points to win their 18th championship in franchise history.