Pep Guardiola surprises and as in soccer, the help that Man City’s coach gave to Boston Celtics, the NBA champions

The Boston Celtics are the new NBA champions after defeating the Dallas Mavericks 106 to 88 in Game 5 to get an overall 4-1 win. It was an impressive NBA finals performance from the Celtics, and their head coach, Joe Mazzulla, has guided them to the Celtics' first NBA championship since 2008. While many American NBA fans are reacting to the great achievement of the Celtics, some are surprised to hear that this success also comes from Manchester City's manager, Pep Guardiola. The Spanish manager spent time with the Celtic coach, Mazzulla, and the American basketball coach thanked Guardiola. Mazzulla said, "Dallas [Mavericks] has one of the smartest defenses. We had to be creative to counter them. Pep [Guardiola] helped me in transitions and how to move guys." Guardiola was in Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks and Celtics won that game 107 to 89.

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Pep Guardiola was seen talking to Mazzulla ahead of the NBA finals, and it showed that the Spanish manager was giving him advice in terms of tactics when it came to his players. Despite not being a coach in basketball, Guardiola is among the best managers in football history, and he tried to give his perspective of the game of football into the game of basketball, which includes lots of transitions. Mazzulla explained the influence Guardiola has on him and said, "I study a lot of Man City. I study Pep a lot. I think he’s the best coach at any level, in any sport. It’s had a huge influence (on me).”

Mazzulla further explained that the game of basketball is different from football but understands Guardiola's philosophy on the style of play. Mazulla said, "Everyone tries to divide the basketball into offense and defense, but it's one and the same game. If your transition defense is bad, everyone is going to focus on the transition defense itself. ..but it's your spacing, decision making and shot selection that matters first, then your transition defense. I think the management of transitions is very comparable between our two sports. You can be on offense and two seconds later you can be on defense. The game is therefore constantly evolving."

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Pep Guardiola's 23/24 season with Manchester City

Pep Guardiola guided Manchester City to more history as they won the Premier League for the 4th time in a row. The Spanish manager led the team to a first-place finish in the Premier League table with 91 points ahead of Arsenal, who finished second with 89 points. Their record after 38 games was 28 wins, seven draws, and three losses. Guardiola and Man City also won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup this past season. They were knocked out of the Champions League quarterfinals by the eventual champions, Real Madrid. They lost out on the FA Cup trophy as they lost 2-1 to Manchester United.