Joe Mazzulla’s passion for combat and martial arts is well known.
In May 2023, the Boston Globe published a story detailing the Celtics head coach’s jiu-jitsu training routine. During a segment on Zolak and Bertrand, he floated the idea of imaginary challenge coins.
So when videos of Mazzulla working with Eric Nicksick — an MMA coach based in Las Vegas — went viral on social media, many Celtics fans knew it was the latest episode of Mazzulla’s fascination with the sport.
“I have a lot of respect for the art,” Mazzulla said. “I have a lot of respect for our teams and the guys in the NBA, the guys that we work with. They push themselves physically, mentally, emotionally all year long, especially during the season. I can go through the whole season and not have any physical taxing moments, and the players are physically drained, mentally drained, emotionally drained. The more that I can meet them where they’re at and put yourself in that position, I think it helps have an empathy for them and understand what they go through.”
Joe Mazzulla discussed a hypothetical reality about having challenge coins, a made-up item that allows a person to dare someone — at any time and place with no notice — to a physical battle.
“What if we all walked around with like five coins and at any point in time you can just hand one out, and you just challenge the guy to combat?” Mazzulla said. “These are the type of things that I think about. I think the world would be a better place if everyone walked down the street and knew that everyone had five coins, and they could be used at any time.”
