While the Celtics were blasted by the Bucks on Thursday, there was at least one nice subplot to the game. Jrue Holiday was back in Milwaukee for the first time since he was traded. He was mum talking about how he’d feel in his first game back his former arena heading into the game.
But Holiday got to go through that experience Thursday as the Bucks put together a two-minute tribute video for Holiday. Here’s the full tribute video for the Celtics guard. Holiday reflected on that experience postgame.
“It was awesome,” Holiday said, via NBC Sports Boston. “My stint here, I had a great time. It was really fun and had some great memories and showed some of those memories on the jumbotron. So it was cool to kind of see that. The fans here have always been great. They’ve always been supportive of me and my family and the team here. It’s definitely a fun place to play.”
There were plenty of cheers for Holiday as the crowd appreciate the former Bucks guard. Holiday earned an All-Star appearance last season, spending three years in Milwaukee. Of course, he also earned a ring, winning it all in 2021 to raise a banner with the Bucks.
Now, Holiday is a member of the Celtics after two separate trades. The Bucks elected to acquire Damian Lillard from the Blazers. Then the C’s sensed an opportunity, so they traded for Holiday from Portland right before the start of training camp.
So it puts Holiday in a situation where he’s the primary rival for his former team. But as he put it after Wednesday’s win over the Timberwolves, he’s “onto better things.” While the C’s looked hapless after getting demolished by the Bucks, it was just one game without too much cause for concern. So perhaps the lone highlight will be that Holiday moment as the Celtics and Bucks meet two more times the rest of the season.
“It was cool to be back,” Holiday said. “I felt comfortable walking in. Just walked in in a different way. Seeing familiar faces. Saying hello to the people I had seen for the last three years. So it was cool to see everybody.”
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