Joe Mazzulla Reveals ‘Best Blake [Griffin] Story’ From Time with Celtics

Jack Simone | Apr 18, 2024

Oct 18, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla talks with Blake Griffin. / Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Griffin officially announced his retirement from basketball on Tuesday. The former first-overall pick last played for the Boston Celtics, with whom he spent the entire 2022-23 season.

Despite appearing in just 41 games, Griffin connected with the team on a human level. The leader of the Bus One Boys, Boston’s name for their end-of-rotation guys, Griffin was always the first guy to lift the team up, provide a laugh, and help improve the vibes when necessary.

But for then-first-time head coach Joe Mazzulla, his favorite memory of Griffin is a testament to how humble the veteran is.

“The best Blake story, I think, is, when we first signed him, I was like [a] first-time head coach coaching a former number one pick. [Let's] see how this goes,” Mazzulla recalled. “And I really didn't have -- I didn't know him that well. And I'd really grow to have a love and respect for him. When we decided to kind of go away from him, he came in and pulled me to the side and was like, 'Hey, what can I do to get back? What can I do to get better?'

“And for a guy of his stature and his resume and his success and his longevity [of his] career to come to a first-time coach and ask that, just said a lot about who he was. And I think from that point on, he kind of took control of the temperature of the locker room. So, that was a moment I'll never forget. Really grateful that I got to be around him.”

On the court, Griffin’s small-ball five minutes helped Boston through some injury-plagued months. And away from it, his upbeat personality and positive mindset kept the team’s spirits high.

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