The Boston Celtics recently clinched their first NBA title since 2008 (18th overall) in what was a pretty one-sided series. Their star players showed up in the Finals series, however, a relatively underappreciated hero of the series was Jrue Holiday. The two-way guard showed up on both ends of the floor and once again proved after the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 campaign that he is a key piece to a Championship roster. Interestingly, former NBA star Jeff Teague recently claimed some credit for the Celtics’ win because he was the one who apparently initiated the Holiday trade in 2023.
Advertisement
On the recent episode of Teague’s Club 520 Podcast, the panel congratulated the Celtics for being the most dominant team of last season. DJ Wells said that the Milwaukee Bucks are to be blamed for the championship going back to Boston.
The Bucks traded Holiday in 2023 to bring Damian Lillard in Milwaukee. However, the Celtics’ front office might not have initiated the move to get Holiday if it wasn’t for Teague.
The 2021 NBA Champion said on his show, “You know what’s crazy though? I need my props. I ain’t going to say I told them to do that, but I did hit JT [Jayson Tatum] once Jrue got traded. I was like, y’all need to go get Jrue. And if you don’t believe me, you can ask him, I swear to God I did.”
The 36-year-old added that Tatum apparently told him he was going to ask Brad Stevens, the Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations, to facilitate the trade. Teague did admit that Stevens’ skill as an executive helped secure the move. But he still claimed the credit for the initial prompt.
“I ain’t saying it was me but Brad’s a genius, so he probably had that in the works,” Teague added.
Regardless of who played the chief role in acquiring Holiday, the fact is that the Celtics couldn’t have done it without his help. In the five games of the NBA Finals, Holiday averaged 14.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 53.6% from the field, 42.1% from beyond the arc and 100% from the free throw line.
In addition to that, he had an unforgettable performance in Game 2 of the Finals where he scored 26 points with 11 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. He also shot an impressive 78.6% from the field in the game.
Holiday’s impact in the Finals series was such that he was even being considered as a potential Finals MVP after Game 2. Despite not ending up with the trophy, Holiday stamped his mark as a player with true Championship pedigree with his strong hustle on both ends of the floor.
