Why Celtics star Jrue Holiday values NBA title more than Olympic gold and what it will take to repeat

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is coming off a memorable summer. The 34-year-old guard claimed his second NBA title after helping lead the Celtics to their first NBA championship since 2008. Just a short while later, Holiday claimed his second Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Paris. For comparison sake, it was identical to the summer Holiday had in 2021, when he won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks and then won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

With 15 years of NBA service, Holiday has put together an impressive career. He’s established himself as one of, if not the best, perimeter defenders in the league and can transform into whatever a team needs. He can run an offense at a championship level and earn an All-Star nod in the process. He can defend the opposing team’s best player whether it’s a guard or a big man, or fly under the radar and suddenly end a game with 20+ points. 

As the 2024-25 season approaches, Holiday spoke to CBS Sports in an interview set up by Thorne to talk about his summer of winning, adjusting to a different role after being traded to Boston and the challenges of entering a new season as the defending champions.

(The following Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity and flow.)

First off, congratulations on all your success this year — the Celtics championship and gold medal at the Olympics. So I have to ask, which one of the two do you cherish more?

Jrue Holiday: I’d have to say the championship, for a couple reasons. One would be as a little kid, I feel like this is what you dreamed about. Like, winning the NBA championship, and just because it happens every year — I think obviously the Olympics are super cool, and it could mean so much more to people, because it’s every four years and the opportunity is less. But I feel like growing up, like an NBA championship was something that I always had my eyes set on, and always felt like I wanted to get. And and then doing it for the city [of Boston], and it being since 2008 and just seeing, like, how the city backs you and the support that you get, it was amazing.

When you won in 2021 with the Bucks, it also ended a championship drought for the Bucks. You’ve now ended both droughts for two teams. So what is that experience like for you, and how much bigger is it for both cities?

Holiday: It’s cool, I think the Bucks one was like 50 years or something, just insane. And just even being able to see the appreciation from that city and during COVID and the people that came out for the parade, it was awesome. But I will say there is a bit of a difference in legacy when it comes to Milwaukee and Boston. So being able to do it [in Boston] and experience that was crazy.

I have to talk a little bit about the Olympics. There were a lot of people who said this was the best collection of talent since the Redeem Team at the 2008 Olympics. Just top to bottom, so much Hall of Fame talent, NBA championships, everything. What kind of becomes a challenge when you have that collection of talent on a roster to kind of get on the same page in such a short time span that you guys have?

Holiday: The challenge is going from what you do on your respective team, which is, carry the bulk of the load, which is, if it’s in scoring, rebounding, playmaking, handling the ball, and going to this team where, like, everybody does that. You have to be able to sacrifice, and you have to be able to look at the ultimate goal and be like, ‘What can I do that’s not just only going to set myself apart from from the others, the other greats on this team, but I might have to take, quote unquote, a lesser role.’ I might have to, and when I say, quote unquote, it’s not a lesser role. Like playing defense every possession on the best player, or picking up 94 feet, and then you might not get it down on offense for the next four possessions. That’s a lot. It’s a lot. And it just goes to show the dedication to not only your teammates and all that, but like the country that you have on your chest. 

So it was really cool to see the best players in the world be able to sacrifice, and get into a role and find a role. So for those kids who see this, hopefully they get encouraged, because it’s not always about being a superstar. The role players are just as important, and they’re kind of what makes this engine go. And when you’re trying to win not only an NBA championship or an Olympic gold medal.

Yeah, I felt like you and Devin Booker did a really good job at that this summer. You just kind of got in where you fit in on this team and excelled in that role.

Holiday: You can’t be mad, right? Like, LeBron [James] and [Stephen Curry], you got [Jayson Tatum], got [Derrick] White and Tyrese [Haliburton]. You got Joel [Embiid], got Bam [Adebayo], [Anthony Davis], like, literally legendary names. You can’t really be too mad about like, ‘I’m not getting touches, or my playing minutes are down’ because it’s like they’re literally the best to do it, and they’re sacrificing just the same as I am.

There was a sentiment this summer where many people were saying the rest of the world is catching up to the Americans in terms of basketball on the Olympic stage. And you guys had some close games with Serbia and France. Do you feel that sentiment? Is the rest of the world catching up? Or do you feel like there’s a sizable gap still?

Holiday: I don’t know. I think that — and there are no excuses, but even when you look at some of these things, you look at Germany, Serbia, France, Canada, Greece, like these guys have been playing with each other since they were 12. So they’ve had this chemistry. Australia, like they’ve been playing with each other since they were young kids, and they’ve had the chemistry since they were young. This is my second Olympics, and yes, this time I had two teammates on there from my current team and one from a previous team. But the last time I went, I only had one teammate. It was me and Khris Middleton. But like, other than that, you don’t really play with these guys at all. You play against them, so the chemistry that you have to build is in such a short amount of time. 

I don’t know if you say that other countries are catching up, which they do have some greats in the world, like they have [Nikola] Jokic, they have Giannis [Antetokounmpo], they have [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander]. Germany has like four great players on their team. But again, they’ve also been playing with each other for so long that their chemistry is already there. So sometimes it’s not always about having the best players. Sometimes it is about chemistry, and luckily for us, we had both.

Tell us a little about this partnership with Thorne Supplements and how it’s helped your career.

Holiday: I think that it’s been a big part of my success and been a big part of my career in terms of longevity. I don’t think people understand how much Thorne has helped me just to stay on the court, to recover from injuries, to recover after a long game, to recover during the playoffs, to be able to prepare for the Olympics. I think that diet is very, very important, especially in terms of performing as well as recovery and Thorne’s helped me do that for the last seven years.

At what point in your career or life did you realize, ‘OK, yeah, it’s time to start prioritizing my body’ and being cognizant of what you’re putting into it?

Holiday: I ended up getting injured, and it was kind of a big surgery. I wouldn’t say that I freaked out, but I freaked out, and I kind of just locked into how can I recover as fast as possible? And I feel like the supplements from Thorne was one of the things. I was like, this is what’s going to help me. I can’t really run. There’s only so much lifting you can do. So your nutrition is super important. The things that you eat and you put into your body are super important. And then having supplements like fish oil or zinc, or things for gut health, or even things like for pre workout, recovery, all these things can help you in your journey. I think I’ve had four or five surgeries since then, and I’m sure no one would even be able to tell, because of how well I take care of my body.

You entered the league at 19, did you have to unlearn habits that you might have done earlier in your career? Because obviously you bounce back a lot quicker when you’re younger.

Holiday: I used to eat terribly. I mean, to this day, I could probably still eat a pack of honey buns, but I’d feel terrible. At 19 or 20 or 21 you can do anything you want and bounce back the next day, and then just at one point it hits you like you can’t, you can’t bounce back the same way. So I’ve definitely grown and matured in that way. And I’m not going to eat a box of honey buns, not the whole pack.

Last season was your first with Boston. You shot the ball the fewest times since your rookie year, and your role shifted from the past few years of being asked to score more frequently to kind of picking your spots more strategically. What was that change in role like for you?

Holiday: It was a challenge, just how everything happened, too. I came to Boston and I think I missed the first day of training camp because I wasn’t cleared yet. So like, I felt like I’m already behind the eight ball. Other teams are already — or even my team, like they’d already been in the gym for the last month and a half, two months. They’ve been scrimmaging, playing pickup, lifting, building that chemistry, and I’m just like jumping right in. 

So it took me a little while, but, my teammates did help me build my confidence and make me feel comfortable in spots that I was supposed to get to. Or even just be able to feel comfortable in certain situations where like we had such a good team that, like, what was what was needed from me? Was it on the defensive end? Was it scoring? Was it play making? And we have such a good team that I had to learn that each game is going to be different. Literally, each game is going to be different. So it’s just the mentality and sticking with it, and I ended up playing pretty well throughout the year.

I’d say this is the most complete team you’ve been on in terms of the depth in offensive and defensive talent. For someone who is one of the best defenders in the league, does it make your job a bit easier knowing at all times you have four other guys out there who are going to put their all into defending?

Holiday: For sure, it makes my job a lot easier. And knowing that, especially defense, if I get beat, my guys are going to be there to help, and they are elite defenders. But not only that, I feel like the load is shared amongst everyone where we all have an understanding that every game, not just me, but every game, is going to be different. Like [Derrick] White might be going crazy in this game, or [Kristaps Porzingis] might be going crazy this game, whatever may be. [Al Horford] is just coming out and knocking down 3s. So it makes it easy knowing that, like you could have a great game and your teammates support you, because they know for one this is for the betterment of the team. But also, everybody is going to have a chance to kind of play well at some point. 

It was cool to sit beside yourself and see, like, alright, I don’t need to come out here and score 30. Like, that’s not my role. Yeah, I know you have goals of being an All Star, all that type of stuff, but the ultimate goal for me was winning a championship, and that’s what happened.

And now you guys enter this upcoming season as defending champions. As someone who has entered a season as a defending champion, you’ve seen how hard it is to repeat as champions. Why do you think that is such a difficult thing to accomplish?

Holiday: I mean, everybody’s after you, and that’s also the fun part. That’s the fun part of being a competitor is having the chance to do it again, just to show like, ‘Yeah, we them.’ Like you thought the first time was a fluke? Nah, we could do it again. And I feel like every competitor has that dog in them, or that nature in them, where they want to prove themselves every single time. So I think our team has that. And hopefully we stay healthy, and then we can prove the same thing this year.

And how do you keep that edge? Because I feel like we’ve seen teams that have had that like championship hangover going into the next year. So, how do you keep that edge? Just because you did it last year, you still want to do it again?

Holiday: It’s a mentality. I do think some of it is being able to step away from basketball a little bit if that’s what you need, or to find like what you love to do outside of basketball and get that in. Like me, I love being with my family, whatever it is, going to my daughter’s soccer practice or my son’s T-ball practice. That’s great for me. But I think being a competitor is the most important thing, and taking care of your mental health is huge. To be able to go out there every single game and know that, like every single game is important because you’re building for something. It’s something I feel like mentally as a team, we have, and we have a lot of vets on the team too, so I think that also probably helps.

So your coach, Joe Mazzulla, said a couple weeks ago that he doesn’t like the term “defending champions.” He wants you guys to attack this season and be on the offensive. He always has these really interesting quotes or perspectives that are unique from most other coaches in the league. What has it been like being coached by him, and how’s that experience been?

Holiday: It’s been fun, and it’s been interesting. It’s been different, you know? I feel like having that switch up from maybe, like, the normal type of coach to having a coach like Joe has been cool. Y’all definitely do see the more intense side to him, but he definitely has, like, a playful side. He has a side where he’s cracking jokes and doing whatever. But y’all definitely do see the serious side. But if you know Joe, he loves the game, he loves the struggle. He loves being the one doubted. He loves being the underdog. And he loves the fight, like physically and mentally. He loves to fight, like he’s into jujitsu and all that. But I feel like a lot of the times, he loves the fact that we’re going to be put in positions where either we’re going to crack or we’re going to break through. And I feel like that’s kind of where he excels is being able to help us mentally break through some of these trying times.

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