Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla admits AI fandom (non-Sixers variety)
Justin QuinnCeltics Wire
Oct. 30, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET
Artificial intelligence is not exactly the most popular topic in the US right now, but it does have uses that can give an edge to users unavailable to most. So that may be why Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla fessed up to being a fan of AI (not the sort that used to play for the <a href="https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/basketball/nba/teams/philadelphia-76ers/20/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Philadelphia 76ers, mind you – we are contractually obligated to get that joke off) in a recent appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” show that had the Celtics coach taking calls from listeners for the second time this month.
“I use (artificial intelligence) every day for coaching thoughts and being able to process stuff psychologically and being able to break things down into, ‘OK,, how do you handle situations like this?'” explained the West Virginia alum, who noted his preferred AI service always ends in a question to the user.
“It keeps you in a constant state of searching, getting more out of you,” said the Celtics coach. “Better prompts. It just prompts you, it challenges your brain.”
“It was beneficial in the offseason, my personal development and also where I wanted to take this psychologically for our team,” said Mazzulla.
“It’s good because in coaching, you say phrases and you riff on the phrase. Like, ‘We’re looking for moments of greatness,’ so then you could throw that in there and say ‘OK, how can we find moments of greatness within what we’re trying to do?,’ so it’s been good.”
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