How old is Joe Mazzulla? Age and career timeline for Celtics head coach

Gilbert McGregor

How old is Joe Mazzulla? Age and career timeline for Celtics head coach image

The Celtics' pursuit of the 18th NBA title in franchise history has been led by one of the game's sharpest young minds.

Joe Mazzulla is in his second season as an NBA head coach and is largely responsible for Boston posting the best offensive rating in NBA history in 2023-24. Mazzulla's path to becoming an NBA head coach was far from traditional and resulted in him being the NBA's youngest head coach.

In addition to being the youngest head coach in the league, Mazzulla is younger than Celtics veteran center Al Horford, among many other NBA players.

How old is Mazzulla? Here is more perspective on the age of Boston's head coach.

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How old is Joe Mazzulla?

Mazzulla is 35 years old. He was born on June 30, 1988.

A native of Johnston, R.I., Mazzulla graduated from Bishop Hendricken High School in 2006 and pledged to play basketball collegiately at the University of West Virginia.

Mazzulla played five years at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to the Final Four in 2010. One of the biggest wins of Mazzulla's college career came against DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall and Kentucky in the 2010 Elite Eight.

John Wall guards Joe Mazzulla
(NBAE via Getty Images)

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Joe Mazzulla coaching career timeline

After his playing career ended in 2011, Mazzulla began coaching as an assistant at Division II Glenville State in West Virginia.

Mazzulla spent two years as an assistant at Division II power Fairmont State before joining the Celtics organization as an assistant coach for the then-Maine Red Claws, the franchise's NBA G League affiliate.

Mazzulla bounced back to Fairmont State for his first head coaching job, spending two seasons on the sideline before leaping to the NBA as an assistant coach in Boston. He was promoted into the interim head coach position after Ime Udoka was suspended indefinitely and later hired as the franchise's head coach in 2023.

TeamRoleYears
Glenville StateAssistant coach2011-13
Fairmont StateAssistant coach2013-16
Maine Red ClawsAssistant coach2016-17
Fairmont StateHead coach2017-19
Boston CelticsAssistant coach2019-2022
Boston CelticsInterim head coach2022-23
Boston CelticsHead coach2023-Present

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Who is the youngest coach in the NBA?

Mazzulla is the NBA's youngest coach, followed by Utah's Will Hardy. During Boston's run to the 2022 NBA Finals, both Mazzulla and Hardy were members of Ime Udoka's coaching staff.

RankNameAgeTenure
1.Joe Mazzulla, Celtics352022-Present
2.Will Hardy, Jazz362022-Present
3.Mark Daigneault, Thunder392020-Present
4.Charles Lee, Hornets392024-Present
5.Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies392019-Present

There are five NBA coaches under the age of 40. Celtics assistant Charles Lee, who was hired as the Hornets head coach beginning in the 2024-25 season, will turn 40 in November. Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins will turn 40 in September.

How many active NBA players are older than Joe Mazzulla?

18 players older than Mazzulla played at least one game in the 2023-24 NBA season. Among them, eight have played in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

In addition to coaching Horford, Mazzulla will coach against Indiana's James Johnson, who turned 37 in February.

NameAgeDate of birth
LeBron James39Dec. 30, 1984
P.J. Tucker39May 5, 1985
Chris Paul39May 6, 1985
Taj Gibson38June 24, 1985
Kyle Lowry38March 25, 1986
Garrett Temple38May 8, 1986
Al Horford37June 3, 1986
Jeff Green37Aug. 28, 1986
Wesley Matthews37Oct. 14, 1986
James Johnson37Feb. 20, 1987
Danny Green36June 22, 1987
Joe Ingles36Oct. 2, 1987
Mike Conley36Oct. 11, 1987
JaVale McGee36Jan. 19, 1988
Stephen Curry36March 14, 1988
Brook Lopez36April 1, 1988
Robin Lopez36April 1, 1988
Thaddeus Young35June 21, 1988
Joe Mazzulla35June 30, 1988

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.