Jrue Holiday has special message for Brad Stevens after Celtics title win

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has made numerous considerable changes over the past few years to surround Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with a supporting cast that could propel the team to championship status.

And the move that probably had the biggest impact was the trade for Jrue Holiday.

Holiday became available after being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the trade that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks last September. A few days later, the Celtics acquired Holiday from the Blazers in exchange for Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks.

Holiday brought championship experience – he was the only player on the roster with a ring – scoring depth and fantastic perimeter defense. He made numerous decisive plays during the 2024 playoffs, including the decisive play in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks when he scored 15 points with 11 rebounds and four assists.

Stevens arrested by NBC Sports Boston Celtics pregame live Monday evening to speak to Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House. Holiday joined us and had a special message for the Celtics executive.

“Thanks, man,” Holiday told Stevens, as seen around the 2:10 mark of the video player above. “Thank you for bringing me here and being a part of all of this. There’s no better feeling than that.”

Holiday made history in Game 5 by becoming the first player in league history to win a championship in his first season with two separate franchises (minimum 30 minutes per game in the playoffs).

The next challenge for the Celtics will be trying to repeat as champions, something no team has done since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. But luckily for the Celtics, Holiday will be back in the fold the next time. next season. He signed a four-year contract extension with the team in April.