Coach of NBA champions Celtics promised to visit Israel if they won

By Lazar Berman

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18 June 2024, 3:23 pm

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Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla shouts to his players during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals against the Dallas Mavericks, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, whose team won its 18th NBA championship last night, promised in May that he would take his family to Israel if his squad took home the title.

“If we win the championship this year, we’re flying to Jerusalem and we’re walking from Jericho to Jerusalem,” said Mazzulla in an NBC docuseries released on May 17.

“We went last year and we stopped right along this mountainside of the Kidron Valley and you can see a path in between the mountains,” he said. “The only way [Jesus] could’ve gotten from Jericho to Jerusalem was this valley, and right there I was like ‘we have to walk that.'”

Mazzulla is a devout Catholic who famously wears his faith on his sleeve.