ORLANDO — Jrue Holiday has a Hall of Fame resume.
He’s won an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same summer twice — one of only two players ever to accomplish that, alongside Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.
He is a two-time All-Star, with the 10-year gap between his 2013 and 2023 selections — the longest in NBA history. He’s also a six-time All-Defensive Team selection (three First Team), and frankly, he should have even more to his name. Yet even in his 16th professional season, his peers still view him as one of the league’s most underrated players, and rightfully so.
He’s the only player in NBA history to win a championship in his first season with two different franchises (minimum 30 minutes per game in the playoffs).
First, with Milwaukee in 2021, helping the Bucks capture their first title in 50 years, averaging 17.3 points, 8.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals over 23 playoff games.
Photo credit Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Then again, last season with the Celtics, where his impact on Banner 18 was undeniable, especially when the stakes were highest. In the Eastern Conference Finals, he made a strong case for MVP, averaging 18.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while delivering clutch moments like the game-sealing steal in Game 3 and a crucial offensive rebound in Game 4.
His impact carried into the NBA Finals, where he averaged 14.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, leading the team with 26 points in a critical Game 2 victory.
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Sometimes, Holiday can be overlooked. That comes with the territory when he plays alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and company. But in games like Game 3 against the Magic, his absence is hard to miss.
“Obviously, you can’t replace what Jrue Holiday brings on both sides of the ball — so everybody has a little bit of a different role and responsibility on both sides,” Derrick White said. “Jrue is a special player. Obviously, we are a better team with him.”
The numbers back it up: the Celtics are 100-31 in the regular season with Holiday and 18-3 in the playoffs. He’s a steady hand on both ends of the floor — one they missed badly in Game 4 as turnovers, defensive breakdowns, and struggles on the glass piled up.
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“The intangibles are endless,” Mazzulla said on Holiday. “The mentality that he plays with. The selflessness that he plays with. The physicality, the toughness, and defensive versatility. His ability to guard different possessions, his ability to pressure the basketball, his ability to take tendencies from individuals and just make winning plays, whether it’s our offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, screening, another ball handler to have out there versus pressure, and then in transition he can create advantages for others with his screening and his pace. He’s played well in the first two games.”
In this series, Holiday has played 69 minutes, totaling 20 points on 7-of-15 (46.7%) shooting from the field and 3-of-7 (42.9%) from three, along with 11 assists, seven rebounds, a steal, and a block. The Celtics are +24 with him on the floor. In Game 1, the Celtics credited Holiday with changing the game through his physicality and defense — allowing Boston to dictate the pace more on their terms.
“His ball pressure. His individual defense. He took on the challenge of his matchup, and I thought he did a great job on both ends of the floor. His defense led to our offense,” Mazzulla said after the game. “I thought Jrue did a great job setting the tone for us from a defensive standpoint in the second half.”
At times, Holiday might seem like a luxury. But when the stakes are highest, he’s anything but. The Celtics felt that reality in Game 3 — and they’ll look to avoid that same sour taste in Game 4, as Holiday misses his second straight game with a hamstring injury.
