More than two months after Joe Mazzulla hopped off a duck boat to fire up fans at the Celtics championship parade in Boston, the celebrations are continuing. The head coach will head home to Rhode Island -- with the Larry O'Brien Trophy in tow.
Gov. Dan McKee said Rhode Island will be celebrating Coach Joe and the Celtics 18th NBA title at the State House on Tuesday morning.
The Johnston, RI, native, who played basketball at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick and graduated from there in 2006, has already made the rounds with the championship trophy. After the Celtics returned from a celebratory trip to Miami in June, Mazzulla brought the trophy to Boston's North End and his gym in Newton, Mass.
The C's captured their "617" championship on June 17, 2024 -- 16 years to the day after Boston's last in 2008, when the Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen led the Celtics to their first title since 1986.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and co. blew out the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in Game 5 of the series to clinch Banner 18 and break a tie with the rival Los Angeles Lakers for the most championships in NBA history.
