How Joe Mazzulla helped create a Celtics culture that embraces family and kids

Jayson Tatum’s son Deuce is a sideline staple. Ean Horford sits on the bench and cheers like he’s a member of the Celtics. And, Joe Mazzulla loves to remind his players all of it is bigger than basketball.

BOSTON — On a sunny Saturday afternoon in September, more than a dozen kids inundated the Auerbach Center. As a rigorous training camp practice came to a close, Jayson Tatum and Joe Mazzulla participated in a lively game of “Duck Duck Goose” with the motley group, which included the children of Xavier Tillman, Jrue Holiday, and Luke Kornet, among others.

Mazzulla’s son, Manny, began getting up shots alongside a few player development coaches shortly thereafter. The rest of the kids — some toddlers, some older — played tag with Celtics assistant coach Amile Jefferson, their laughter filling the practice facility.

The scene, as heartwarming and adorable as it was, is nothing new for a Celtics organization that has championed having players’ and coaches’ kids be as present as possible.

You don’t have to look very far to find it.

Sometimes, the kids accompany their fathers on the team plane. Oftentimes, they hang out in the locker room postgame and run around on the sidelines during warmups.

All of it is the result of an intentional effort by Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics leadership to foster a culture that embraces children. For the 36-year-old head coach who has two kids of his own, the decision to allow — and actually encourage — kids to spend time around the team was a no-brainer.

“We give up everything for nine, ten months a year,” Mazzulla said. “We miss games, we miss picking them up from school, we miss all the things. You want your kids to be able to go and see, ‘hey, this is why I missed practice today, this is why I missed being at something today.’”

In turn, plenty of players have capitalized on the opportunity to have the kids spend precious time around the team.

When Jaylen Brown gets his pregame shots up at TD Garden, it’s often Ean — Al Horford’s 9-year-old son — who helps grab his rebounds.

And when Jayson Tatum goes through stretching exercises with his trainer, Nick Sang, Tatum’s 6-year-old son Deuce is right in the center of the action.

Not every Celtics player has kids, of course. Jrue Holiday, (two kids) Derrick White (two kids), Luke Kornet (two kids), Xavier Tillman (three kids) and Sam Hauser (one kid) join Tatum and Horford as fathers, but stars like Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown don’t.

For younger players like second-year sophomore Jordan Walsh, getting used to having children around was a part of adjusting to NBA life.

“I’ve never had a teammate that’s had multiple kids before, so that’s pretty different, especially for them to be in the locker room, and running around during the game, and passing me a towel,” Walsh said, laughing. “I’m like ‘what?”

How Al Horford has embraced the Celtics’ family-oriented culture

Horford and his wife, Amelia Vega, have five kids, and their eldest, Ean, has the most visible presence around the team. Once in a while, Ean joins the team on road trips, and he often sits on the bench during games, cheering vigorously when the Celtics score,

“He loves the game of basketball,” Horford said. “He just loves the Celtics. He loves history. Just him being around here and seeing so much history in this building and with this team — he’s just been immersed in it. He’s just really into it. He’s just embracing every moment. The guys see that and everyone as well — he’s kind of just a part of it in his way.”

Mazzulla was excited to learn that Ean would be accompanying the team on a road trip last year, recalling a moment when it sunk in for him just how special the Celtics’ culture was.

“[Al] told me he was bringing him on a trip, and I was like, ‘That’s great!’” Mazzulla said. “We were at Chicago, and I didn’t know he was gonna be sitting on our bench until I go sit down, and I look up and Ean’s sitting on the bench while I’m drawing up a play, and I was like, ‘Damn, that’s pretty cool.’”

And, when the Celtics won the NBA championship, Ean was front and center, sobbing into Derrick White’s arms as the buzzer sounded.

“That was powerful,” Horford said. “That was very special. It was more special for him because he had a dream about it. Him seeing himself in that moment, I just think it hit him. When I look at the video, I get emotional about it.”

Horford recalled how growing up, he watched his dad, Tito, play basketball professionally: “Those are memories I still remember until this day.”

Tito, who played four years of NBA hoops, still doesn’t miss any of his son’s playoff games, attending nearly every game — home or away.

“He’s in disbelief with everything that we’re living,” Horford said.

At age 9, Ean is already a skilled basketball player, and if he continues to play, Al says he can picture supporting his son the same way his own father currently supports him.

“I totally see it,” Horford said with a smile. “If he chooses to — I don’t know if he’s going to want to continue to play and do all of those things — it’ll be pretty special for us to watch.”

For now, Ean immersing himself within the Celtics organization has served as a massive source of joy for his father.

“It’s a privilege for me to be able to have him around,” Horford said. “And Joe being so open to having our family around.”

For Jayson Tatum, it was family-oriented from the inception

Since the start of Jayson Tatum’s career with the Celtics, Deuce has been a staple on the sideline. The six-year-old, who was born just a few months into Tatum’s NBA career, typically sits courtside with Jayson’s mother, Brandy Cole, and runs over to his superstar father for an embrace shortly after the buzzer sounds.

Jayson Tatum shared a glimpse into his prioritization of fatherhood as a guest contributor for the NBA’s Starting 5 newsletter last year.

“Deuce is in school, so there are days when I am waking up at 6:30 am to get up and get him dressed and ready for school, regardless of my responsibilities for the day because I know how important it is to him for me to take him to school,” he shared. “Being a dad is the most important thing to me, so no matter what my schedule is, I will always find time to spend with him, and some of my favorite memories come from our car rides.”

In 2022, it appeared that Tatum missed a December game against the Orlando Magic to celebrate his son’s fifth birthday, a decision that became a hot topic for debate in the NBA sphere. But, the decision to allow Tatum to miss the game to spend valuable time with his son isn’t shocking when the Celtics’ entire culture around fatherhood is considered.

The number of kids on the pregame sidelines appears to grow each game. Deuce and Ean are the most consistent attendees, but Holiday’s kids — an 8-year-old daughter, Jrue, and a 4-year-old son, Hendrix — are often present courtside, as are many of the assistant coaches’ kids.

All of it is a result of a family-oriented culture that Joe Mazzulla and the team have established. And, it signifies a level of care that the players have for one another. one that goes much deeper than basketball.

“If a guy is bringing their kid around, they have a certain trust with the team and with the organization,” said Jordan Walsh, the team’s youngest player at 20 years old. “I don’t think you’d bring your kid around people you didn’t trust and love. It definitely shows the amount of care that they have for us — that they have for each other.”

That level of trust is something Horford hasn’t taken for granted when it comes to his own son.

“The most gratifying part is seeing him happy, but also seeing my teammates embracing him… they really care for him,” he said. “That to me, is the special part.”

For Joe Mazzulla, it has all panned out exactly how he liked. No one who knows the third-year head coach would question his competitiveness, how much he values every basketball game, or how business-like and rigorous his practices are.

But, in his eyes, having the kids around doesn’t take away from any of it.

Instead, it puts the sport in perspective.

“We’re not just basketball players,” Mazzulla said. “We’re dads. We’re people.”