Why Jrue Holiday was special for the Celtics from the start

Holiday's contributions to Banner 18 are well-documented, but one aspect of his presence from the very beginning goes surprisingly unnoticed.

Jrue Holiday / David Butler II-Imagn Images

October 1, 2024 marked the one-year anniversary of when the Boston Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers shortly after they acquired him from the Milwaukee Bucks. One year later, it's fair to say the Celtics got pretty much what they wanted from Holiday. If not, more so.

Honestly, what can be said about Holiday that hasn't already been said? Brad Stevens' demeanor during their introductory press conference shortly after the trade told Celtics fans everything they needed to know. If the normally stoic Stevens is smiling, you know the Celtics had made a major splash.

Besides being considered part of one of the best backcourt pairings the Celtics have ever had, Holiday really was the whole package for Boston. Between the timely shots, clutch steals, and making the right play in crunchtime during Boston's title run, there wasn't much Holiday couldn't do.

He may not have been their best player, but anyone who watched knew what Holiday brought. Yet there's one benefit he brought that's not getting enough credit.

Holiday made the Celtics better for sure, but something he also did was negate a few risks the Celtics had going into the regular season and postseason. That advantage showed itself from the moment Boston acquired him.

1. Holiday negated the risk of losing Marcus Smart

The Celtics entered the 2023-24 season with title expectations for sure, but the one hangup pre-Holiday was how exactly they were going to replace what Smart brought to the table. Smart's imperfections at times stood out at times like a sore thumb, but there's no denying how much ground he covered by himself.

Trading him among others for Porzingis raised the Celtics' ceiling, but also bred some questions about the Celtics' roster as a hole. Despite having more talent, the Celtics' foundation seemed shakier without Smart in the picture even though Derrick White was ascending. Then the Celtics got Holiday, putting all those concerns to rest immediately.

Smart's absence was supposed to rip open several holes, but Holiday filled virtually all of them. It also wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that he not only did everything Smart did, but also brought even more to the table.

2. Jrue Holiday made the Celtics' roster less of an injury risk

The Celtics had legitimate championship aspirations before they acquired Holiday, but those aspirations required multiple gambles to work in their favor.

That started with Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III, both of whom were important pieces of their previous success but also came with injury risks. Add Porzingis to that mix and the Celtics were leaving a lot to chance before getting Holiday.

At first, trading Brogdon and Williams seemed like a lot of depth to give up, but they had proven that despite what they could bring to the table, they weren't dependable. Adding Holiday took away those risks. While he may not be an iron man, Holiday has proven himself much sturdier than Williams and Brogdon.

Holiday had a much healthier season than Brogdon and Williams, playing in more regular season games (69) than they did combined (45). Even if it came at the cost of some depth, the Celtics had a much more solid foundation. When the Celtics acquired Holiday, they went from an excellent (but unstable) top-7 to an elite top-6.

The ironic aspect to all of this is that Holiday's transition to the Celtics wasn't a quick or easy one, but one, trading for him just before training camp gave him little time to prepare, and two, it didn't matter in the long run because once he figured his role out, the Celtics became all the more unbeatable.

Saying Holiday played a hand in the Celtics' first title in 16 years is not breaking any new ground. However, where he deserves more attention is knowing just how many questions he answered by himself once Stevens got him to Boston.