Both Mazzulla and Guardiola were promoted from relative obscurity into their first senior head coaching role — Mazzulla at the Celtics after Ime Udoka’s suspension ahead of the 2022-23 season, and Guardiola by Barcelona from their reserve team setup after the unsuccessful end to Frank Rijkaard’s tenure in 2008 that saw the club finish third in LaLiga, 18 points behind rivals Real Madrid at the summit. “Obviously, nowhere near the manager that Pep is but we share a similar beginning,” Mazzulla said in interview with Men in Blazers. “He was coaching Barcelona’s B team, I was in Maine’s G League team, and they could have easily gone for a bigger name, but they go to this guy sitting on the back bench with no experience. “It became really a roadmap to how I wanted to go about building a culture, a team, and you know, taking over greatness. You take a look at his tactical ability, his abilty to manage the best players, which I think is what separates coaches in any sport — that’s something that I thought I could really learn from.”