Joe Mazzulla has built a reputation as one of the NBA’s most unconventional coaches, and his latest Derrick White remark fit that image perfectly. During a recent Boston radio appearance, Mazzulla jokingly framed White as someone he talks conspiracy theories with and referenced asking him whether he believes the moon landing happened.
Joe Mazzulla says Derrick White is a “conspiracy theorist” and wouldn’t confirm if he believes in the moon landing
Mazzulla: “D-White, you believe we landed on the moon?”
Derrick White: “No comment.” 😭
(via @ZoandBertrand ) pic.twitter.com/YARGZakkDV
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) March 12, 2026
There is also a basketball reason the comment drew so much attention. White has become one of the Celtics’ most valuable players, to the point that Kenny Atkinson recently called him a top-five player in the league, prompting Mazzulla to defend White’s value by saying that his type of impact is not always easily commercialized or understood by the public. In other words, White is the kind of player who already inspires unusually strong praise inside coaching circles, so even a lighthearted off-court anecdote tends to travel.
In the end, the story is less about whether Derrick White actually doubts the moon landing and more about the culture around Boston’s locker room. Mazzulla’s comment came off as another example of the strange, slightly chaotic sense of humor that has helped define this Celtics era. For a team that has already won a championship under him, that offbeat chemistry has become part of the brand as much as the basketball itself.
