The head coach of the victorious NBA champion Boston Celtics took inspiration from the Premier League’s winning manager when it came to beating the Dallas Mavericks

Joe Mazzulla, the Rhode Island native who just won an NBA title with the Celtics, publicly credited Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola with helping him.

Speaking to reporters after the Celtics won Game 5, he pointed to Guardiola with helping him in the transition game.

Dallas has one of the smartest defenses,’ Mazzulla told reporters. ‘We had to be creative to counter them.’

The Finals winning coach added, ‘Pep [Guardiola] helped me in transitions and how to move guys.’

Guardiola was seen courtside for Game 1 of the NBA Finals – a game which the Celtics won on their home court.

Boston then dominated in Games 2 and 3 in order to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

They followed that up by getting blown out by Dallas in one of the most lopsided defeats in NBA Finals history.

But on Monday night, Boston came out hot and returned the favor by beating the Mavericks by 18 points to win their 18th championship in franchise history.