Leadership has been a key topic this offseason. Losing Marcus Smart, arguably the heart and soul of the locker room and unofficial captain of the team, meant questions regarding on-court leadership were inevitable, as did a significant overhaul of the coaching staff and a string of new additions. The recent addition of Jrue Holiday ensured the topic of leadership would be raised once again.
This Boston Celtics roster drastically differs from the one that fell short in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Players who had spent their whole careers in Boston have moved on. There is less familiarity within the core rotation. Strong leadership will be essential.
When we think of leadership, our minds often go to the loudest voice on the court —someone willing to chew his teammates out and hold them accountable while getting under their opponent’s skin. Yet, that’s only one type of leadership, and it’s not one we’re likely to see this year.
It all starts with the coaching staff.
During his press conference at Media Day, head coach Joe Mazzulla discussed his egalitarian approach to implementing a leadership team. The term ‘Tribal Leadership’ is how Mazzulla looked to describe Boston’s new staff dynamic.
“Surrounding myself with people who can complement the players, can complement who I can as a coach, and can also work together. We kind of took this approach of tribal leadership, communicating and working in teams of threes and fours and one-on-one.”
A quote I have always enjoyed is, “actions reflect leadership.” When you have a head coach who empowers others, the team will look to empower each other. If the coach prefers to control situations and have others fall in line, that type of leader will emerge on the court.
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Boston may have a bunch of new faces, but they also have some exceptional talents who command respect from their teammates and players around the league. There will be an orchestra of voices this season. Not one, not two, but maybe four or five. Everybody will be encouraged to give input, learn from each other, and continually push toward the end goal.
“Everyone’s a part of it. Everyone has to communicate,” Mazzulla said. “It’s not just on one person to communicate… There’s a communication piece and a reciprocal piece of responding to the communication… Jrue’s a part of it, but so is Jayson, so is Jaylen, and so is Al.”
Coaching will play a big part in setting the tone. The players are the ones who have to implement it on the court. In previous years, when things have gotten a little hairy, Smart has stepped up and led the way as the team’s heartbeat. That role falls to Tatum and Brown now. They’re ready for it. We’re talking about two All-NBA talents, after all.
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This summer, Tatum has sought out the help of a Celtics legend. We’ve all seen the footage of the All-NBA wing working out with Paul Pierce. It’s clear Tatum is embracing his role as the face of the franchise and has been picking the brains of Pierce to help him improve his approach to the game.
“The little things that he took away from his championship team, how close you have to be as a unit,” Tatum said of spending the summer with Pierce. “How you need other guys to feel right, [feel] important, which they are. But just how you need everybody on the team to help win a championship. Because in one series, somebody might be an x-factor, and you know, [it will be] different from the next series. But they all add up. And just all the stories that he was telling me and every team meeting and things they did off the court as a group and just things that made the ‘08 team so special.”
The interesting part about Tatum’s comments is that they focus on collective leadership. A leading voice can easily get lost without all fifteen roster members pushing forward. Comradery appears to be the key to success. With a slight shift in leadership focus, it makes sense that Tatum and Jaylen Brown released some footage of the duo working out together this summer, although when speaking in his own media day press conference, Brown insisted it wasn’t the first time the pair had been in the lab with each other.
“We’ve been playing together for a long time,” Brown said. “So, we worked out in the summertime workouts, especially younger points in our career.”
It will take some time to see how the Celtics’ new form of leadership plays out. However, when you empower everyone to do their job and feel valued within a situation, it usually creates a healthy working atmosphere conducive to success. The archaic view on loud and authoritarian leadership is a thing of the past — both for the Celtics and slowly in workplaces worldwide.
Yes, Boston lost an exceptional leader in Smart. Yes, Grant Williams was a growing voice within the locker room. And yes, Mazzulla struggled to get his message across at times last year. Everybody has had time to reflect and compartmentalize.
A new system is being put in place, a system designed to ensure everybody thrives in their role. If the system works…sorry, when the system works, the Celtics will raise a new banner in the TD Garden.
