The Boston Celtics will pile onto a collection of duck boats Friday, ready to celebrate their history-making championship in the same way countless legends before them already have.
It might not be totally unfamiliar to some, though.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla revealed in his latest appearance on 98.5’s “Zolak and Bertrand” that he brought his entire coaching staff on a duck boat tour prior to the start of the season, with Friday being the bookend to his ultimate goal.
“We kind of spoke it into existence,” Mazzulla said. “I was like, ‘We’re gonna start the season with the duck boat tour.’ The staff took one — on most coaching retreats guys go away, go to Cape Cod, go to different places, we had our coaches retreat in downtown Boston. We had new staff members and we were creating this identity of building a connection to the city and I said, ‘We’re doing our staff retreat in Boston. We’re going to dinner in Boston, we’re going to Boston hotel and we’re gonna do the duck boat tour so we can understand the city and the history. We need to know what this is really all about.’ We did one at the beginning of the year. We’re gonna end with one.”
It’ll be different on Friday, however, as the celebration will focus on the players and their relationship with the community. It’s the end of a long, arduous road, but one that will provide moments that last a lifetime.
“I’m really excited to see how the people support the players,” Mazzulla said. “It’s going to be awesome.”