It was a different kind of Marathon Monday as the Celtics took media day to its literal limits. The day-long event brought most of the team, as well as Brad Stevens, Joe Mazzulla, and yeah, Bill Nye, in front of the media to kick off the 2025-26 season. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting quotes, with my reactions to them.
JOE MAZZULLA, ON BEING MOTIVATED BY THE LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS TEAM
“I think if I ever get to the point where I start basing my motivation on the expectation of others and people that I've never met before, I'll retire and quit. So to me it's like you wake up every day and you have a standard and an expectation for your family, for your household, and then when you come in for the building. Regardless of who's on the team, that will never change. So it doesn't guarantee you anything, but I think you got to be able to push yourself. You got to be able to hold yourself to a standard that's not only at home, that's when you come to work every day. So that's really the focus I think is not allowing others to put expectations on you, but if you don't have high expectations for yourself, you're not going to get to where you want to get to. So every season picks up a life of its own. Every journey is different, every team is different and I think you have to kind of look into that as you head into any season.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: Mazzulla is off and running with the quotes, but he’s right on the money. The outside expectations can’t be the sole motivation of this team.
If you’re only motivated by the things other people say about you, then what happens when they're nice? What happens when they don’t talk at all?
Mazzulla setting the standard is important because the outside noise is going to get loud if the team struggles for any extended stretches. It’s an expectation that the returning guys have to carry, which is important for setting the tone of their expectations as well. A guy like Sam Hauser, for example, has to be part of that standard for the new guys, which pushes him to be a better leader.
Part of this is seeing who can handle that part of the job. Some guys might be great, but only up to a point. Others might be surprising. Part of what Mazzulla is saying is holding everyone to that standard and pushing them to carry that the whole season.
JAYLEN BROWN ON WHETHER TALK OF BEING THE NUMBER ONE OPTION MOTIVATES HIM
“To be honest, I feel like in the past, the outside voices, I would be lying if I said they didn't motivate me because they did. At this stage in my life, I’m not sure if I gain motivation from that. I feel like, maybe the narrative that we have grown to see like the one option or whatever the case may be, to me, that's never really been a thing. I think that's just only — basketball, it’s not like that. People who know the game know that any given night anything could happen, etc. and then like you have number one options on offense, but you also have number one options on defense and stuff like that. We only focus on the offensive side of basketball, but what about defense? People who are purists of the game know how important defense is. It’s equally as important as offense, if not more. But we only really care about the entertainment, about the highlights, the setbacks, the offense part, but you know number one option has to do a lot with defense as well.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: I think we might be seeing a different Jaylen Brown this season. I don’t yet know how it will manifest itself on the floor, but I think we’re seeing a guy who is a little more comfortable being himself. I think it’s a matter of personal growth.
Either Brown is being sincere in how his approach to life has evolved, or he took some great acting classes this summer.
This is incredibly important because I’ve wondered if the pursuit of being a number one option might carry him out of Boston next summer. I’ve wondered if a great season as the top option might lead Brown to ask for a trade somewhere he can do that full time for the rest of his prime.
But the guy that spoke today … I’m not so sure that's on his mind. Maybe he’s truly being reflective and exploring a more mature approach to his life and career, or maybe he was just stoked to have Bill Nye The Science Guy here at the practice facility. Either way, talking to him today dialed that concern from an eight to a four … for now.
There's more to this version of Brown. I’m curious to see how this goes during the season.
JAYSON TATUM ON THE PROCESS OF HIS RECOVERY
“There’s just different phases of it. I think the toughest part was at the beginning and kind of being in disbelief. For me, I had to accept it. I think at the moment, I accepted that this happened and this was going to be a part of my journey. I started to see a turning point, but then you’re on crutches, and you’re on a scooter, you’re in a boot. And then you can drop one crutch and then you can drop both crutches, and I think at that point, the things that you take for granted, you’re walking around, my hands were free, that made me feel a little bit more normal. Getting out of the boot made all the difference. Then your weightlifting, workouts start to feel a lot more normal. The last week I’ve been on the court. But now it’s a tough spot to be in because the team is practicing tomorrow and I’m not going to be able to be out there. So I’m certain when the season starts and I’m not out there, it’ll be mentally challenging. But you just try to look for bright days when you can get them.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: I think Tatum is entering the toughest part of his recovery because this is where the added mental challenge really hits.
I don’t want to say the initial part of the recovery was easy, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. It is physically painful, which absolutely sucks, but it’s about hitting a lot of big goals early, and those are very attainable at that point.
Think of it as a 400 pound person losing weight after weight-loss surgery or drugs. There is a lot at first that melts right off. People can go from 400 to 250 pretty quickly. But getting from 250 to 175 feels impossible and it comes with some tough mental hurdles.
It’s not a direct parallel, but getting onto the floor and not being who he’s used to being is going to be a tough mental battle. Watching his teammates practice and get ready for a season while he still goes through short drills is difficult, and there will almost certainly be a temptation to push it harder so he can come back sooner. This is where trusting the recovery process gets very difficult. It’s not about being sad about “oh I can’t play.” It’s about being anxious about “I need to get back out there ASAP!”
Everyone involved has been very clear about going through the right steps and being fully healthy before returning. This is going to be where that mindset truly gets tested.
MAZZULLA ON BEING PART OF TATUM’S RECOVERY PROCESS
“I think it's a responsibility as a coach to be there for you guys. So whenever I could lift with him, whenever I could be there for treatment, whenever I could rebound for him, I think it was important to do that. I think as a guy that's going through stuff, you have to know that you’re going through it together, and I think that's a piece that's important. So I was there for the first time he walked, I was there for the first time he ran, I was there for the first shot that he took. So I think it's important. We try to do that for everybody. I think one of the things in the offseason that I like to do is build different relationships with the guys and do different things. So each guy has their own way about how you go about doing that. This summer that was a way to build a relationship with him and it was different for everybody throughout the summer. Chris (Boucher) got baptized this year, I got to go to that. I thought that was really important. And just a lot of other things throughout the offseason.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: Players love Joe Mazzulla. Just look at what Josh Minott said of him already.
“It's amazing. He’s inspiring, truthfully,” he said. “A little bit of a weirdo, but he's a great dude, though. He’s someone that, like, he inspires passion. He's definitely someone that, just from the month and a half of knowing him, I feel like I'd run through a wall for him. Man, truthfully, he just has that effect on people.”
And frankly, this is what a coach should be doing at this level. This is what’s going to keep his guys engaged. And think about what Tatum is going to want to do for Mazzulla when he comes back.
This is really important, because the Celtics are going to evolve stylistically. One big storyline out of this summer is the need to play faster and cut more. It’s a little out of Tatum’s normal style of sizing up defenders and then going into his bag of moves. The Celtics are going to need to keep that up when Tatum comes back, and this relationship between Tatum and Mazzulla is going to be a part of that happening.
DERRICK WHITE ON THE EVOLUTION OF HIS GAME, ESPECIALLY WITHOUT TATUM OR KRISTAPS PORZINGIS
“I might have the ball a little bit more than usual, or in the last couple of years, but just try to do what I do. I’m not trying to focus on like, I need to come in here and average however many points. I know I don’t play well when I start thinking like that. Just kind of read the game, read what my teammates are doing. We’ve got a lot of guys that do a lot of different things, and so some games maybe I’m on the ball more, and other games where I’ll just be a spacer like I have been. So just understand that every game might be different and just do whatever the team needs for that game.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: The most interesting part of this is White saying he doesn’t play well when he thinks about what stats he needs to put up. That's an interesting thing to hear from an NBA player because I feel like they are confident enough to put up whatever numbers they want if they have the opportunity.
But it says a lot about White’s game that he doesn’t, and can’t, worry about the stats. It explains why he’s always so focused on making the right play. It’s a hell of a characteristic to have when with that level of skill, too.
I think that attitude, and the reasoning behind it, shows how unique White is as an NBA player. He’s supremely confident in himself, but he’s also not a soulless, me-first scoring machine who seizes upon opportunities to make himself look better.
ANFERNEE SIMONS ON PLAYING DEFENSE
“We've talked about it. It's just a matter of if I want to do it or not. It's really that simple. Like I said, coming into a culture like this, you have to be able to adapt or you're not going to be in the position that you want to be in. Whether it's playing or not playing. To me, it's really that simple. That's the honest conversations (Mazzulla and I have) had about it. He always says that, you're not as bad as people think you are. That's good to hear. But I also got to do the work, too, to get better on that end and focus in on exactly what we need to do on the defensive end. Like I said, I'm pretty excited about being pushed to a new level, which I can reach."
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: Whew. Instead of wearing a jersey this season, why not just wear a bullseye after the first part of that quote?
“It’s just a matter if I want to do it or not” is one of the stickiest quotes I’ve ever heard. Every time he shows no effort out there, this quote will come back to haunt him. He’d better put in a lot more defensive effort this season or this will hang over his head long past his time in Boston.
But to be fair, I think this quote is more about putting things on himself rather than blowing off playing defense. I think he was saying it in a way that was trying to take accountability for it. He and Mazzulla have had a conversation about it and it’s about his effort on that end. He expects to be pushed on that end and he feels like he can come through.
And again, to be very clear, he’d better. He has set himself up for a rough time with that little snippet.
PAYTON PRITCHARD ON STARTING OR COMING OFF THE BENCH
“It does not matter to me. Starting or coming off the bench, that’s something that I have no control over. That’s Joe's decision. But my only mindset is when I touch that floor I bring my best. So if I am starting, I'm ready for that. And if I'm coming off the bench, I'm not going to be sour about it and hang my head. It’s when my number's called, I'm ready. And that really should be the mindset of this whole team. People are going to be asked to do different things each night. Some guys are going to be asked to maybe not play as much. And how can you show up as a teammate? So it's another way of being a leader through all that. If Joe's going to ask me to come off the bench one game, start one game, keep the same attitude and approach through it all.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: Did we expect anything different?
Pritchard is spot on when he says this is another way of being a leader. If the Sixth Man of the Year, an established veteran and key contributor to a championship team, can take a somewhat undefined role and thrive, then most people on the team can.
I think his role will actually be defined, but I think Mazzulla can use this to his advantage. Give Pritchard a few games in each role just to mix it up and show that through it all, Pritchard will keep working hard. I think they can settle on something more regular in a few weeks, but sending an early message isn’t a bad idea.
CHRIS BOUCHER ON HIS SHOT SELECTION
“I think it's more like knowing where my shots are coming from. I think that in my first couple of years, it was more trigger-happy, trying to just show that I could shoot 3s. … I think that the league knows that we are capable of making threes and it's just about taking in the great ones. When you take good ones, usually the margins are a lot better, so that will help me, but I think also being on a team that shoots a lot of threes and that always finds the perfect shot, that will also help me too because it's a lot easier to make clean shots than contested ones.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: The last thing we need is Boucher launching 11 3-pointers just because he thinks he can in Mazzulla’s offense, so this is an encouraging quote. Take the good ones, pass up the bad ones.
JOSH MINOTT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS SEASON
“I'd almost consider this the one (that will keep me in the league). I'm really excited about being here. I feel like it's a great opportunity to impact winning, whatever that looks like. So I feel like, for me, it's a defensive versatility, bringing energy, knocking down over shots … whatever is required of me to accomplish that goal, that's what I plan on doing.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: Minott is going to be a real wild card this season. I loved that first line. It’s a little bit desperate, and coupled with the quote earlier about being willing to run through a wall for Mazzulla, we might have something here.
Minott has all the tools. He’s a big wing with a plus wingspan. Add the desperation and willingness to do anything in order to stay in the league and he might be the one guy Brad Stevens picked off the scrap heap that can stick around.
My bold prediction for this upcoming season is that Minott ends the season as a big-time fan favorite.
SAM HAUSER ON BEING IN TRADE RUMORS
“Of course. You try to block it out, but you really can’t, to be honest with you. But I know it’s part of the business. I was prepared for whatever. If I was gonna get shipped, great. I stayed, thankfully. I’m glad to be here. But even if I were shipped, I had no hard feelings here. They gave me an opportunity when no one else did. They extended me. They had to do what they had to do, and I understood it. But I’m glad I’m here, to say the least.”
KARALIS’ ANALYSIS: Hauser seems to have a really good attitude about this. I don’t think he would ever get so low that he disrupted anything, but I’ve seen NBA players come in from summers like Hauser’s, where he was often mentioned as a trade candidate, and struggle.
I appreciate the honesty. I’m sure it's impossible to block out everyone in the media treating you like a poker chip.
