It was Kids Day at Boston’s TD Garden a couple of weeks back, and while children were given the opportunity to ask questions to their hometown NBA team, the Boston Celtics, head coach Joe Mazzulla did not pull any punches in his responses. But one particular exchange stood out. When Sports Illustrated Kids reporter Rusty Smith asked Mazzulla how he balances “pushing players to improve while also keeping the game fun for them,” the 37-year-old championship-winning coach did not mince words, or offer platitudes.
“I struggle with that, to be honest with you,” Mazzulla said. “I think everyone has a different definition of fun, and you have to find one as a team. I think fun’s a cop-out sometimes when things aren’t going well, everyone likes to say, ‘Well, let’s just have fun.’ Well, what does that mean, you know? So you have to define what fun looks like as a team and you have to go after that. But that phrase can be a cop-out sometimes. So as you get older, kid, don’t use it. You know? ‘I just want to have fun.’ Well, what does that mean?”
The comments, which sparked broader discussions about the role of enjoyment in professional settings, aren’t particularly surprising coming from Mazzulla, whose emotionless nature on the sidelines—never too high, or too low—is well-documented. (Mazzulla’s intensity, including his eccentric practice methods and his esoteric love of things such as European soccer, mixed martial arts and even jiu-jitsu, is also widely known in NBA circles.)
Days later, in an interview with The Athletic, Mazzulla elaborated on his complicated relationship with happiness. “Just in general, I don’t get joy from winning,” Mazzulla said. “Not even a championship … I get the most joy and fulfillment when I feel like it was done right, regardless of if we’ve won or lost. And that’s really it. I’ve left the arena after wins being empty and pissed off.”
This philosophy runs contrary to a growing body of workplace research suggesting fun enhances productivity. A study from the University of Warwick found happy employees were 12% more productive than their less satisfied peers, while research from BrightHR suggested 79% of employees believe workplace fun contributes to increased output. Gallup has also linked engaged, satisfied workers to a 21% rise in organizational profitability.
Yet, Mazzulla’s results are difficult to argue with. He holds a 190-71 regular-season record as Boston’s head coach and guided the Celtics to their record 18th NBA championship in 2024—their first title in 16 years—at age 35, making him the youngest coach to win a championship since (the great Celtic) Bill Russell in 1969. The Celtics went 64-18 that season en route to the title, then followed that up with 61 wins the next season.
Academic research does suggest nuance in the fun-at-work equation. A 2022 study published in Cogent Psychology found that while workplace fun can function as a job resource that activates engagement, its effectiveness depends on context and employee trust. Other research has shown that some individuals react cynically to mandated fun activities, viewing them as “artificial and unauthentic attempts to build unity.”
You can watch Mazzulla’s candid response to the young reporter’s question below.
Kid reporter asks to Joe Mazzula: “It’s Kid’s Day at the Garden… How do you balance pushing players to improve while keeping the game fun for them?”
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