Jrue Holiday says Celtics title sparked ‘competitive’ discussion with Team USA teammates
"Obviously you get a little competitive in that," Holiday said. "Especially because my team won."
Fresh off their NBA championship triumph, Celtics stars Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum are gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Team USA’s training camp is underway in Las Vegas, with most players arriving last Friday, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
Holiday said the conversation at team dinner that night was “relaxed and comfortable.” He also noted that the discussion with his Olympic teammates grew a little more intense when the topic turned to the players’ respective teams.
“Obviously you get a little competitive in that,” Holiday said. “Especially because my team won.”
The Celtics sent Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton packing during the playoffs. Both players are on the USA basketball roster. Los Angeles’s LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid are also among the notable names on the roster.
After Tatum and Derrick White inked long-term contract extensions this offseason, Boston is set to bring back nearly all of its roster next year.
Holiday said he’s already locked in on trying to win the next one.
“It’s been a good year for the Celtics,” Holiday said. “I think just where we started and for myself, how I started, and being the last one getting there in training camp and us going through and battling and winning the championship and bringing everyone back, it’s amazing.”
“We all did it together and had fun doing it,” he added. “So, I’m excited for (Tatum) excited for (Derrick White) just to be able to really run it back next year and see what happens.”
Holiday and Tatum were teammates the last time Team USA basketball won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He said seeing Tatum complete his quest to get his first championship was special.
“You could see and hear and feel all the pressure he has on him,” Holiday said. “But to be able to relax and know he completed the ultimate goal was something I was super happy for.”
Himmelsbach noted that Holiday flew to Tokyo three days after helping the Bucks win the title that year, so he is no stranger to a quick turnaround.
“I’m still in the mode of just being locked into competition,” Holiday said, “locked into playing the game of basketball. … I’m already there. I feel like we won [the NBA title] just the other day.”
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