Boston Celtics
Mazzulla has the second-best odds to win the award, trailing Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff.
Boston Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla applauds as his team heads to the bench for a time out during the first half of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Boston. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
-
Jayson Tatum earns his first Eastern Conference player of the week award of the season
-
Jayson Tatum looked like a star again as Celtics roll past Hornets: 7 takeaways
Despite the fact that the trophy for NBA Coach of the Year is named after Red Auerbach, it’s been 46 years since a Celtics coach has been named the winner.
The last time was in 1980, when Bill Fitch won the award a year before the Celtics would break through for the first title of the Larry Bird era. It was the second Coach of the Year victory for Fitch, who also won in 1976 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
During a visit to TD Garden on March 18th, Hall-of-Fame center Robert Parish told reporters that current Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla reminds him of Fitch.
This season, Mazzulla has an opportunity to bring the Auerbach Trophy back to Boston. According to BetMGM, Mazzulla has the second-best odds to win the award. Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff is the favorite.
With two weeks left in the regular season, here’s a look at the top contenders and the case for each of them.
J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons
Record: 54-20
Odds: -190
The case for: Recall, if you will, where the Pistons were two years ago, shortly before Bickerstaff was hired during the summer of 2024.
While the Celtics were riding the high of a championship parade, the Pistons were coming off of a season in which they finished dead-last in the Eastern Conference. They went 7-33 at home. They tied the record for most consecutive losses (28). It was historically bad.
This season, Detroit is the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They’ve got the third-best record in the NBA.
They’ve done it by getting into the paint, rebounding, and playing tough defense. They’re scoring 49.4 percent of their points in the paint, the second highest of such percentages in the NBA. The Kings are the only team in the league who shoot fewer threes than the Pistons do. They’re the top shot-blocking team in the league. They’re No. 2 in defensive efficiency, and they’re also top-10 in rebounding.
Bickerstaff has helped the Pistons turn their fortunes around in a hurry, and now they’re in position to have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics
Record: 50-24
Odds: +155
The case for: The Celtics lost a massive amount of talent compared to last season and still ended up in a similar spot to where they were last season at full strength.
They did not have Jayson Tatum for the first three-quarters of the season. Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet all wound up elsewhere during the offseason.
The Celtics still have the second-best record in the East behind Detroit and one of the top-five records in basketball.
The key word here would be development. It seems like every single player on the roster has gotten better, a testament to individual work ethic and the culture Mazzulla has fostered within the program.
Jaylen Brown is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Neemias Queta has become a quality starting center. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard weathered the storm while handling the need for more scoring without Tatum. Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh have each helped the Celtics’ depth in their own way.
This team has shown that it can win a variety of ways. They’ve also turned some key weaknesses into strengths. Rebounding was a major issue at the beginning of the season. They’ve since become a top-five rebounding team. They lost their starting point guard, yet somehow are averaging the least amount of turnovers per game in the league. They are extremely on both ends of the floor, ranking in the top-four of the league in both offensive and defensive rating.
In what could have easily been written off as a gap year, the Celtics are right back in the mix.
Mitch Johnson, San Antonio Spurs
Record: 56-18
Odds: +1600
The case for: The Spurs have taken a monster leap in year three of the Victor Wembanyama era.
Wemby’s development into one of the best two-way players in the league is obviously a big part of that. The Spurs also invested heavily into their backcourt, trading for De’Aaron Fox, and drafting Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
Still, the difference between this season and last season is too big to ignore. With eight games last, San Antonio has already won 22 more games than it did last year. Having a year for Fox, Harper, Castle, and Wembanyama to gel together was certainly helpful.
Guiding that group to that level of success as a first-year coach is no easy task, but Johnson has done it. The Spurs have the second-best record in basketball, trialing only the defending champion Thunder.
Charles Lee, Charlotte Hornets
Record: 39-36
Odds: +5000
The former Celtics assistant has orchestrated a big time turnaround in Charlotte. The Hornets won just 19 games last season. Now, they’re hunting for a berth in the play-in tournament.
They’ve split the season-series with the Celtics with a third matchup scheduled for next Tuesday in Boston.
If the Hornets make the playoffs, it will be their first postseason appearance since 2016.
They’re one of the few teams in the league who shoot more 3-pointer than the Celtics, and they’ve let Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, and Kon Kneuppel turn them into one of the most efficient offenses in the league.
Jordan Ott, Phoenix Suns
Record: 41-33
Odds: +5000
The case for: The Suns have a big talent drop-off after Devin Booker, but they’re still seventh in a strong Western Conference.
The Suns make up for being a below-average offensive team (28th in field-goal percentage, 25th in points per game, 18th in offensive efficiency) by creating turnovers and taking advantage of fastbreak opportunities.
They get 20.2 points per game off of turnovers, the fourth-best mark in the league in that category. They’re No. 3 in steals at 9.7 per game.
A team that has Dillon Brooks as it’s second-leading scorer has to find ways to stay in games. The Suns do that by being aggressive on defense and running hard in transition.
First-year coach Jordan Ott has already won five more games than his predecessor former coach of the year Mike Budenholzer did last season.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
