Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has talked up the similarities between his coaching journey and that of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, saying he used the Catalan coach's career as a "roadmap.

Pep Guardiola is as legendary as a manager in European football as there is — seven Premier League titles with Manchester City, three La Liga titles with Barcelona, three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich,

During Game 1 of the NBA Finals last year, an unlikely but significant meeting took place between Pep Guardiola and Joe Mazzulla, the then-head coach of the Boston Celtics.

When Joe Mazzulla was named the head coach following the shocking departure of Ime Udoka, he had a lot to learn. He wasn't even one of Boston's top assistant coaches. He had a rough first season as he tried to learn how to be the leader of the team on the fly.