As the Boston Celtics revel in their 18th championship victory after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in five games, key figures within the team reflect on how they achieved this milestone. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla shared insights during his appearance on the show “Pardon My Take,” where he recounted watching the 2008 film “The Dark Knight” with Jayson Tatum. This viewing experience, Mazzulla explained, provided profound lessons that helped the team navigate expectations and pressure.
Mazzulla highlighted a particular scene where Batman interrogates the Joker. During their conversation, Batman asks why the Joker wants to kill him, to which the Joker responds with laughter, saying he doesn’t want to kill Batman but needs him, stating, “You complete me.” This moment struck Mazzulla as a powerful metaphor for the coexistence of opposites, suggesting that good and evil, or in broader terms, differences, must coexist to bring out the best in each other and those around them. “Dark Knight, great movie,” Mazzulla concluded, emphasizing the film’s impact.
Jayson Tatum, who has faced considerable scrutiny throughout his career, particularly this season, greatly benefited from this perspective. Under Mazzulla’s guidance, Tatum shifted his focus to more critical aspects of his game, culminating in one of his finest seasons and an NBA championship.
Mazzulla himself was under intense scrutiny this season. The Celtics faced high expectations after a disappointing end to the previous season when they lost to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Championship. Despite forcing a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, the Celtics fell short of returning to the NBA Finals, where they had competed in 2022 against the Golden State Warriors.
These past failures, however, laid the groundwork for the Celtics’ triumph this season by conditioning the team for high-pressure situations. Mazzulla underscored the importance of experiencing and managing stressful environments, as noted by Jay King of The Athletic. He emphasized the necessity of constantly discussing and creating moments of stress to test and improve the team’s resilience. “You have to create moments of stressful environments. It’s a credit to the guys because we create a lot of — a lot of — stressful days. Sometimes mentally, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally. But if you create stressful situations, you can start to see how you handle yourself under those stressful situations. And then you can study how you get better at it.”
The Celtics’ championship win was not only a testament to their resilience but also to the collective mindset of the team, where each player embraced their role to become the most cohesive unit in the NBA. Led by the dynamic duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the team also relied on the contributions of Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and others. The common thread among them was a commitment to winning above all else.
Mazzulla praised the players’ decision to prioritize winning over personal statistics. “They just made a decision that winning was the most important thing,” he said. “Jayson and Jaylen playing defense. Derrick (White) and Jrue doing everything. Al, KP, who’s starting, who’s not starting, just none of that matters. And they just put winning at the forefront. And they put whatever went into winning at the forefront.”
He continued to express his admiration for the team’s dedication, noting that their efforts often go unrecognized. “You see it right in front of your face, and you see a group of guys doing it, and it doesn’t get the appreciation and the recognition that it deserves,” Mazzulla said. “When you go through all the different things about what makes a company and an organization successful, the players depicted that all the time, even when things got tough.”
In essence, the Celtics’ journey to their 18th championship was a blend of learning from past hardships, fostering a resilient mindset, and prioritizing collective success over individual accolades. These elements, along with the strategic insights drawn from unconventional sources like “The Dark Knight,” propelled the team to glory.
