Pep Guardiola took in the NBA Finals on Thursday night, this time from the stands rather than the sidelines. After his club created history by winning the Premier League for the fourth time in a row, the Manchester City manager seemed to be enjoying relaxing.
During the opening game of the NBA Finals series between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, the Spaniard was present at TD Garden. Guardiola was sitting courtside wearing a Celtics hoodie, so it was clear who he was supporting right away. The Spaniard has already discussed how he studied the sports of basketball and tennis to learn how to develop his own teams.
“Amazing athletes, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer,” Guardiola remarked.
“The NBA’s biggest dynasties.” Having a squad like the Chicago Bulls with [Michael] Jordan is difficult in the NBA. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not making comparisons with that. Many clubs in the NBA have two or three consecutive winning seasons.
On Wednesday at the TD Garden, Guardiola was observed conversing with Joe Mazzulla, the coach of the Boston Celtics, when the two were trading jerseys.
Mazzulla, 35, is the youngest head coach to advance to the NBA Finals since Bill Russell. The Dallas Mavericks will be his team’s opponent.
The night before the game, Guardiola, who was deep in conversation with the American, accompanied the basketball coach on the court at the TD Garden.
The former manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who has coached teams to six Premier League championships and three Champions Leagues, looked animated as he seemed to wave his hands at the coach.
The 2023–24 season saw the Spaniard engage in similar behaviour with his players; most notably, he gave Jack Grealish a passionate coaching speech after City and Arsenal drew 0-0.
Guardiola flew to America to meet up with Mazzulla, even though a few members of his squad will now be heading to Germany for the European Championship this summer. In February, he had welcomed the basketball coach to the Etihad Campus.
That day, on the training surface at City, Guardiola was observed conversing with Mazzulla. The Premier League football manager seemed to be giving the basketball coach some more exclusive knowledge.
A week later, Guardiola was deemed “the best coach at any level in sport” by Mazzulla, a devoted football fan, according to The Athletic.
Speaking about how he wants to apply the same mentalities to his club as Guardiola does at Man City, he told the source, “That is what the game of basketball is about, to me, and what counterattacking in football is about.”
I therefore read a lot of Man City. I spend a lot of time studying Pep. He’s the best coach, in my opinion, in any sport, at any level. It has greatly influenced me.
Guardiola was seen holding up a green Celtics jersey as they were seen exchanging team shirts this week.