Joe Mazzulla Shows Off 'But First Let Me Thank God' Shirt Moments After Coaching Celtics To Title

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla sported a shirt that read ‘But First Let Me Thank God’ across the front of it as he and his players celebrated winning the franchise's 18th championship on Monday night.

Mazzulla, who speaks about his Christian faith often, wasted no time in giving praise following the Celtic's 18-point victory in Game 5 in Boston. The 35-year-old head coach wore a black crewneck throughout the series-clinching game and appeared to come fully prepared with his ‘But First Let Me Thank God’ shirt underneath.  

Mazzulla went viral ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals when a reporter predictably brought up the topic of race during a pregame press conference.

The reporter prefaced his question to Mazzulla by explaining that this was the first time since 1975 that two black head coaches - with Jason Kidd of the Mavericks being on the other bench - squared off for the NBA title. They then proceeded to ask the head coach if he found that fact significant given "the plight" of black head coaches in the NBA.

Mazzulla wasn't having it, and immediately hit the reporter back with a question of his own.

"I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?" Mazzullah said, to which the reporter said nothing in return.

This isn't the first time Mazzulla has offered up a stark, faith-based response when asked a question unrelated to the game being played on the floor. During a postgame press conference in December of last year, he was asked if he met the Royal Family after Prince William and Kate Middleton attended a Celtics game.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph?" he asked, jokingly. "I’m only familiar with one royal family."

With their dominant series victory over Dallas, the Celtics now hold the title of most championships in NBA history with 18, one more than the Los Angeles Lakers.