Jrue Holiday came to the Boston Celtics with a rather interesting NBA background.

Holiday won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and pushed the Celtics to seven games during a seven-game series in the 2022 playoffs. That previous rivalry went to the wayside for Boston when the veteran guard joined the Celtics for a championship expedition of its own.

“When I first came, I thought that they would hate me because of the series that went back and forth a year or two before that,” Holiday told ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Kendrick Perkins on Wednesday. “I came in and they squeezed me. They hugged me and they embraced me. They made me feel like I was part of the team. Since then, it’s been nothing but love. You know how this city is. Once they love you, there’s nothing like it.”

Holiday rewarded the Celtics for their unmatched support of him, solidifying the defense during the regular season and putting the team on his back to close out Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

Story continues below advertisement

Holiday chases the second ring of his career as the Celtics host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 on Thursday.

Featured image via Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports Images