In four years, Jrue Holiday has won an NBA championship twice. In the final moments of Game 5, the defensive virtuoso outperformed the Mavs. His 11 rebounds and 15 points kindly added to the Cs’ record 18th championship. Throughout the NBA Finals, the veteran had been outstanding, leading the Boston team and remaining capable on both ends. After the victory, he had a touching conversation with Brad Stevens, the President of Basketball Operations, who was largely responsible for his arrival in Boston following a tough separation with Milwaukee.

“I appreciate you bringing me here,” he said to Stevens, giving him an embrace. “This is the greatest feeling there is.” We go back a few months to provide context. Holiday was the main player in the transaction that brought Damian Lillard to Milwaukee during the offseason. The Holiday family was devastated to be relocating and abandoning the Bucks in the first place, even though it was beneficial for the Deers.

Jrue’s wife Lauren Holiday had expressed her emotions to the fan base. “Despite the cliché, it’s personal, meaning that it affects actual people’s lives. Never is it “just business.” Home was Milwaukee. She disclosed their adoption of the Milwaukee community and their efforts to improve it. She also meant what the city represented for their children, who had started school and were in the same classrooms as the kids of Holiday’s Bucks colleagues. It took the defensive maestro all that to discover that he was traded on a phone call without any previous discussions.

For the Holiday family, especially Jrue, it was a difficult time. He thought of everyone as close, having forged an unbreakable tie with the Bucks organization. The Greek Freak was among his colleagues that conveyed their sadness over his leaving. He was traded for Lillard and is now in Portland, far from a championship. That’s when Steven’s ingenuity came up with the notion to acquire Kristaps Porzingis from Washington and then add a player who could make a difference to the club, someone like Holiday.

He was inducted into the All-Defensive Second Team together with Derrick White, his backcourt partner. On the court, the pair developed a unique rhythm that hurt their opponents. He only strengthened his role in the Finals, demonstrating his completeness and adaptability as a player deserving of a title. This was a real loss for the Bucks. Without a question, they received a superstar in Lillard. However, Holiday proved to be the best thing to happen to them when he won the championship in 2021. Perhaps they acted a little too quickly in their haste to please Giannis Antetokounmpo.