Boston's Joe Mazzulla has a strong case for Coach of the Year. Don't tell him that

The NBA has started the process of lining up voters for postseason awards, and if form holds from recent years the ballots will be due shortly after the end of the regular season.

Some categories will be easier for those on the voting panel to fill out than others. Defensive Player of the Year might not take voters very long (spoiler alert, it’ll be San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama) and Rookie of the Year is basically going to be a two-contender race (a Duke guy will win; it’s TBD if it’ll be Charlotte's Kon Knueppel or Dallas' Cooper Flagg).

Other races will be tougher. When talking MVP, for example, logical arguments can be made for Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokic, the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, Wembanyama, Boston's Jaylen Brown and probably a few others as well.

Another of those wide-open races? Coach of the Year.

There is no shortage of candidates. J.B. Bickerstaff is likely going to guide Detroit — a team that made headlines for losing streaks just two years ago — to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Mitch Johnson, in his first full season at the helm in San Antonio (he did coach 77 of the Spurs' 82 games last season, but technically, this is full season No. 1), will have the Spurs in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot on the Western Conference bracket. Quin Snyder in Atlanta, Charles Lee in Charlotte, Jordan Ott in Phoenix and Darko Rajakovic should, at minimum, get some consideration as well.

And then there's Boston's Joe Mazzulla. The Celtics played most of this season without Jayson Tatum and were expected by some to be a fall-back-to-the-pack team this season because of Tatum's injury and the departures of players like Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Oops. The Celtics are at 50 wins, again, and Mazzulla has done an admirable job.

He was asked before Boston's game on Monday about Coach of the Year, and specifically his place in that race. What happened next was ... well, probably not unexpected.

“I don't need it," Mazzulla said. “I think it’s a stupid award.”

It's probably now reasonable to think the Celtics won't be sending out any Coach of the Year pitches to voters on Mazzulla's behalf. Some teams do that; among the more memorable ones in recent years was Utah mailing out an actual album cover depicting then-Jazz center Rudy Gobert as a jazz artist (get it?) when hyping his Defensive Player of the Year chances.

There will be some lobbying for awards. It has already started. Wembanyama stated his MVP case after a game in Miami last week, and Keldon Johnson is also being promoted by fellow Spurs players as a Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner. (His main competition there figures to be Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr.)

And last week, the National Basketball Players Association was among those weighing in on the 65-game rule for award eligibility in most cases — noting the collapsed lung Detroit's Cade Cunningham suffered earlier this month could keep him from reaching the minimum number of games needed to be on the ballot for the All-NBA teams.

“We always knew when there’s a line you draw that somebody’s going to fall on the other side of that line,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last week. “It may feel unfair in that particular instance. Let’s see what happens at the end of this year.”

There's nothing wrong with teams lobbying for their guy, or guys, to win awards. There's also nothing wrong with Mazzulla making very clear that he's focused on far bigger things than individual honors.

“You shouldn’t have it,” Mazzulla said of the award. "And it’s more about the players and it’s more about the work that the staff puts in. It’s just that simple. I really don’t ever want to be asked or talked about it again. It’s just that dumb. So, the players play, it’s about them. Staff works their (butt) off. I'm grateful to have ’em.”

The team awards are all that seem to really matter to Mazzulla. It won't stop people from voting for him, but it's a stance that should be respected.

Around The NBA analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season.

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Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla calls to his players during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches play against the Atlanta Hawks in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Mongolia has named its third prime minister in nine months as the ruling party tries to overcome internal power struggles at a time of mounting economic pressures and political infighting at home.

The hope is that Uchral Nyam-Osor can manage the divisions in the Mongolian People's Party that toppled his two predecessors and brought him to power. He called for unity after parliament confirmed his appointment Monday night.

“As others unite to confront crises, we cannot afford political infighting that weakens our economy,” he told lawmakers.

Uchral was elected as leader of the Mongolian People’s Party and speaker of the parliament last November. Before entering politics, he was a popular hip-hop artist known as “Timon.”

The 39-year-old lawmaker has positioned himself as a reform-minded leader focused on modernizing the country’s regulatory environment. He wants to end a Soviet-era system that gives officials the power to issue permits, creating fertile ground for corruption. Mongolia transitioned to democracy in 1990 after decades of Communist rule.

Ucrhal is a former minister of digital development and communications who promoted transparency reforms and digital governance initiatives. He has played a role in efforts to attract foreign investment to the resource-rich country, including a uranium-related agreement with France’s Orano Group in early 2025.

The Mongolian parliament has been paralyzed following a boycott earlier this month by the opposition Democratic Party and infighting in the ruling party. Together, that meant not enough members were showing up for the legislature to hold votes.

The previous prime minister, Zandanshatar Gombojav, who submitted his resignation Friday to resolve the crisis, had come under pressure because one of his senior ministers faced corruption allegations.

Uchral was seen as a compromise between factions in the Mongolian People's Party loyal to the president and the supporters of another former prime minister, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai.

A total of 107 of the parliament’s 126 lawmakers voted Monday night, with 88 supporting Uchral — or 82% — clearing the way for him to take office.

Zandanshatar, who is close to the president, had replaced Oyun-Erdene, last June. All three prime ministers are from the Mongolian People’s Party.

Uchral warned Monday that Mongolia is entering a period of three overlapping crises: rising global fuel prices, volatile commodity markets and deepening domestic political divisions.

He highlighted the country’s heavy reliance on coal and copper exports, warning that price swings could erode government revenue and strain public finances. The government is also demanding a greater share of the financial benefits in talks with mining giant Rio Tinto over the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine.

Mongolia, a landlocked country that depends entirely on imported fuel, is vulnerable to supply disruptions and price hikes. The government has asked Russia to keep fuel prices stable, and Moscow has indicated it would respond favorably in the near term, Zandanshatar said at a ceremony to transfer power to Uchral.

Uchral's appointment comes amid renewed concern among foreign investors over Mongolia’s political instability, frequent policy changes and reputation for corruption and regulatory unpredictability.

FILE - Mongolian Prime Minister Gombojavyn Zandanshatar speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Sept. 4, 2025. (Vladimir Smirnov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and the head of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev, right, and Chairman of Mongolian People's Party and Chairman of the State Great Khural Nyam-Osoryn Uchral pose for a photo during their meeting at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, on Feb. 10, 2026. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP, File)