For Jrue Holiday, walking around Boston has been a completely different experience since he won an NBA championship as a member of the Boston Celtics.
“Before winning, I could go places,” Holiday said with a smile, at an event celebrating a grand opening of a new Raising Cane’s. “It would be kind of fine walking around. Now, everywhere I go, there’s always —”
Just as he was beginning to describe the influx of attention he’s received from Celtics fans since Banner 18 was secured in June, another Boston sports legend walked into the restaurant: Hall of Fame Red Sox player David Ortiz.
The two athletes — both of whom will forever be hailed as heroes in the city of Boston — embraced.
Asked Jrue Holiday how different it’s been walking around Boston since winning the championship, and it sounds like he’s definitely received the love
“Before winning, I could actually go places” pic.twitter.com/8k6WvDO7e4
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) August 28, 2024
David Ortiz said he felt like he won when the Celtics won it all
For Big Papi, who’s been retired from professional sports for nearly a decade, watching the journey to Banner 18 was a thrilling experience. The three-time World Series winner said that he got a strong sense during the 2023 playoffs that the Celtics were close to winning it all — and that he fully embraced the emotion of supporting the Celtics this past season.
“I’m a Celtic,” Ortiz said. “I cheer, I scream, I cry.”
“I can vouch for that,” Jrue Holiday added with a grin.
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
The experience of seeing Al Horford — a fellow professional athlete for the Dominican Republic — win an NBA title was particularly meaningful for Ortiz. He was in the building for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and watched TD Garden explode in celebration after Jaylen Brown hit a game-tying three-pointer in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime.
“When I see the Celtics win, when I see my hometown homie getting it done, I feel like I got it done,” Ortiz said, oozing with pride.
David Ortiz says he is a massive Celtics fan, and said he was so happy that Al Horford got it done.
Said it felt like he won himself when the Celtics did it pic.twitter.com/rFVCHFKh0j
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) August 28, 2024
Ortiz reminisced on how Red Sox fans filled the ballpark regardless of the weather, or how things were going.
“I always say this when I go back home — I’m so glad that I played Boston because the fans in Boston got the best out of me,” Oritz said.
For Holiday, winning an NBA title in Boston was the highlight of an incredible summer
Holiday has been on quite the roll since winning the championship with the Celtics in June. He headed to Las Vegas for training camp shortly after, and then overseas for the Olympics as a returning member of the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team.
Holiday was a key member of the gold medal winning squad, averaging 7.6 points and 3.6 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. Asked to compare the two championships he secured this summer, Holiday noted that beating France in the Gold Medal Game — in front of the French crowd — was undoubtedly special.
“It was literally us against the world,” Holiday said.
Still, winning an NBA championship in Boston, and the subsequent chaotic championship parade, was an unparalleled experience.
“Winning here was amazing,” he said. “I’m not sure anything tops that.”
Jrue Holiday asked to compare winning Gold in France and the championship in Boston, and said that while both were incredible experiences:
“Winning here was amazing. I’m not sure anything tops that.” pic.twitter.com/Oto9rHfEzl
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) August 28, 2024
The major back-to-back victories also meant that Holiday has barely had a moment to take it all in.
“It was all just so overwhelming,” Holiday said. “That was amazing. Then the parade was crazy. So I can’t — I don’t know, I feel like I’m still in a high with everything going on.”
Next on the list? Back-to-back championships
Jrue Holiday already has two NBA championships and two gold medals under his belt. His next pursuit is securing the elusive back-to-back championships.
Holiday is one of 13 Celtics returning from last year’s championship team, a list that includes Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, Jordan Walsh and two-way players Drew Peterson and JD Davison.
Tatum, White, and Hauser all signed big offseason extensions, while Queta, Tillman, and Kornet re-signed on minimum deals. It’s an astonishing return rate for a championship team — and one that Holiday thinks will make a tremendous difference
“I think it’s going to help a lot, “ Holiday said. “It’s always hard to win one, but then to win back-to-back is even harder. So I think just kind of getting a head start on other teams, possibly, where we have the continuity and the goal that we wanted for the end of the season — it ended up happening for us, but to be able to go into the next season locked in and doing the same thing.”
No NBA team has managed to win the elusive back-to-back title since the Warriors did it with Kevin Durant in 2017 and 2018. Jrue Holiday and the Celtics will hope to change that.
At the conclusion of the event, Holiday and Ortiz both participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the 28th birthday of Raising Cane’s — and the opening of a new restaurant location in downtown Boston.
At confetti inundated the air, both athletes experienced a familiar celebratory sight, in a bustling corner of the city where they’ll forever be known as champions.
