LAS VEGAS — When Jrue Holiday was traded to Boston in September, the Celtics knew they were getting a winner. The two-time All-Star, five-time All-Defensive Team player, Olympic Gold medalist, and NBA champion had as storied a resume as they come. And the Celtics, having recently shipped out Marcus Smart in order to acquire Kristaps Porzingis, needed another veteran guard who could take on difficult defensive matchups and provide a scoring boost.
They certainly got what they hoped for. Holiday was elite defensively, named to the All-Defensive Team, and was once again responsible for quarterbacking the Celtics’ defense which ranked near the top of the league all season.
Offensively, he had one of the most efficient playoffs of his career, averaging 13.2 points on 50.3% shooting, including 40.2% from three-point range. En route to Banner 18, Holiday exploded for multiple high-scoring games, highlighted by a 26-point outburst in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and 28 points in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
No matter how you slice it, Holiday was everything the Celtics could have imagined when they traded for him – and more. The Celtics won the championship in dominant fashion, and Holiday had his fingerprints all over the run.
But his impact on the team extended far beyond his on-court contributions. At Summer League this week, each of the younger Celtics on the roster praised Holiday for his impact on the team.
JD Davison, a two-way player spending his second season with the Celtics, was inactive for the postseason run but was right in the middle of everything. At Summer League, he pointed to the vet’s impact as what stood out to him from the championship pursuit.
“Just how locked in everybody was,” Davison said. “Just how different it was bringing Jrue in, with his championship DNA – just watching that, being in awe.”
Davison said that as a kid, he always followed Holiday, and now, as his teammate, he closely observes and draws from his routine.
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Drew Peterson, the Celtics’ other two-way player, also named Holiday as the player who stood out to him most.
“It’s incredible how many massive plays he had with a minute or two left in the game,” Peterson said. “You don’t even think about it now. Obviously, you think of the MVPs – JB, JT, all that kind of stuff.”
The list of “massive plays” was lengthy. Perhaps the most legendary was Holiday’s clutch steal on Andrew Nembhard, which gave the Celtics a commanding 3-0 lead in the conference finals.
Peterson joined the Celtics in December of last year, and spent most of his time in Maine. Like Davison, he recently re-signed with the Celtics on another two-way after spending the spring around the team during the championship pursuit. He described the experience of being a part of the championship team as awesome. And when Jrue Holiday speaks, in particular, Peterson listens.
“He’s such a student of the game, he knows a ton,” Peterson said. “Obviously, he’s been around the block. He knows what it takes to win – second ring and second team doing it. He’s a guy that I’m really trying to take in everything [he says] when I hear him talk.”
Already a defensive specialist at 21, Jaden Springer has one of the highest defensive ceilings on the roster. So, when he was traded to the Celtics midseason from Philadelphia, Jrue Holiday became the natural person for him to learn from.
“It’s really just watching – he’ll come to the bench, he’ll talk,” Springer said after his Celtics Summer League debut, in which he was glued to Jaime Jaquez Jr. for the entire second half. “I listen to what he has to say. There are even times I’ll come in with the coaches, watch film with him, and watch him workout.”
Jaden Springer has learned a lot from every Celtic:
“A bunch of great players, I know y’all know that too.”
Jrue Holiday has been particularly helpful:
“I’ll come in and watch film with him, watch him work out… he’s a great guy, he’ll fit any role you throw at him.” pic.twitter.com/wlruAYDcjF
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) July 14, 2024
In March, Jordan Walsh told CelticsBlog that whenever he’s with Boston, he’s focused on picking up defensive tricks from Holiday. In particular, he’s been focused on improving his defensive angles.
“That’s another thing with him,” Walsh said. “Depending on who he’s guarding, the angle he takes to recover whenever he’s beat, just stuff like that that just separates him as being one of the best defenders in the league, if not the best defender.”
Walsh said he oftentimes observes Holiday whenever he’s in Boston, so much so that in May, he jokingly tuned into his practice scrum as well.
For the bigs on the roster, it’s been well-chronicled that Al Horford serves as a mentor.
“Al’s been really good at showing me the meticulous things that you need to do every day, from the lifting to the eating right to the mobility stuff and stretching,” Xavier Tillman said soon after getting traded to Boston. “And then when you’re coming in, really just locking in and getting your work done.”
At Summer League, Neemias Queta also pointed to Horford as someone who’s taken him under his wing: “Al’s been really good for me in terms of explaining all the stuff that they want me to do as a big fella and being versatile defensively.”
But for the slew of young guards on the Celtics roster, there’s been no better person to learn from than Jrue Holiday.
“Jrue Holiday is such a role model,” Peterson. “I learn a ton from him defensively — and what it takes to win.”
