Jrue Holiday & Brad Stevens Talk Celtics Winning 2024 NBA Championship | NBA GameTime

Jrue Holiday & Brad Stevens Talk Celtics Winning 2024 NBA Championship | NBA GameTime

uh you guys have been the best team all season long best team in the postseason coming into this 12-2 game four could we looked at as mostly an anomaly for a lot of reasons how good did you feel at tip tonight my whole background is as a coach I understand coaches never feel good you know I was we were in there just watching all these guys spraying champagne and I’m like how the hell are we going to play on our first game next year so I think that that’s just the way that you think but um you know we knew that that wasn’t us and um we also knew that Dallas is very good and Dallas can do that to you and uh I thought tonight the guys did a great job of making it as hard as they could on the two stars and and then even when the other guys made shots early um we were guarding so hard and attacking the rim so much that um we were putting a lot of pressure on them looking back to last summer as Drew gets miked up and and eared up over there um what did you think the two moves for holiday and and christops porzingis would do for you this season that would lead you to this point and and how did it play out or or maybe surprise you along the way well I I personally don’t think you ever like you you don’t sit there and make a move and you say okay now we’re going to win a championship you just know how hard it is I mean we’ve been on the precipice of it and on the doorstep of it but you know a lot of things had to go our way um to win in other years in advance and you know some things didn’t go our way but that’s just part of it and you know there’s a lot that goes into it being the last team standings really hard and you know one of the things that I feel really good about in this moment right now is I don’t think any less of I didn’t think any less of Jaylen Jason and everybody else that hadn’t won one six days ago you know they’re still the same guys they’re still the same people they’re special they’re unique and we’re just fortunate to be the last team standing but still you you pull off some incredible deals bringing a true vet like holiday into this team what he brings defensively bringing in p is guys that can really play on both ends of the court and they give you that offensive versatility walk us through what those trade looks like those talks because when you look at the porzingis deal not only did you get porzingis back but you got a you got a draft pick back as well you got the best player in that in that deal and you’re able to get a draft pick back how did that go about well there were a lot of moving Parts on that one and um and we you know we had to part with a really good player um and Marcus Smart who meant a lot to us and so that was a hard one and you know getting Drew had to part with guys that meant a lot to us and Malcolm and Rob and um but that’s those are the hard decisions that’s why even though I know we’re getting Drew holiday it still is like my stomach’s in knots because I’ve got to call the other two right and um that is not an easy position to be in but you know ultimately what we’re trying to do is surround ourselves with the best possible team and one of the things that we think is a really important character trait is self-awareness you know knowing who you are knowing what you do best and being willing to do that for the good of the team and I think that Drew is the best example of that maybe in the league and you know Derek White’s nipping at his heels Chris porzingis is nipping at his heels Al is another great example right like we just we’re loaded with guys that know who they are and um and do it the right way play the right way that’s why all the talk about the individual stuff who cares like this is team sport we got to be a team moving in One Direction Drew for me you’ve been one of the most underrated players in the league for a long long time obviously and You’ seen them from afar have a lot of success but not get over the hump you come into a new situation how’ you implement yourself how did you approach coming in here um I think I just did my best to see where I fit in uh when I first came I mean Joe made it known what he what he expected out of me and then from Jason to JB to Al to to D white they all made it known what they expected out of so it made it really easy to come in here and and just kind of jail I mean for me guys like yourself and Derek white cuz I’m a defensive guy and I’m a guy that loves I mean you I’m not I’m not defensive guy occasion we go back occasionally every now offense is your defense coach has seen The Scouting Report people really don’t know like the NBA has so many picking roles but to have a guy like you and Derek white who can get over get under or get through a pick and roll and just take a team out of their offense how important that is and how tough that is obviously on you being a veteran who’s been in this league so long but continues to still bring that so for me I don’t have no questions I just want to give you your flowers I just want to give you your flowers cuz I’ve played against you I’ve competed against you and I know how hard it is when you guys get through those screens to get for a team to get action and get going so kudos to you kudos to Derek white man I love what y’all do Drew I do have a question we’ve got lots of questions in fact your coach is 35 right he he was thrust into this this position under unusual short-term circumstances you come in after he’d been on the job a year what did you learn about him and his ways that have gotten you where you are today you know what um so I was an Allstar last year and that’s actually where I first met Joe and got to talk to him he was the the coach of the allstar team um talking to him about his faith talking to him about going to Israel after after he won or whatever um but that was the first time that I really got to talk to him and really get to know him on a personal level outside of basketball and and that was pretty cool to experience now the basketball side he does do things a little different um I mean Brad knows the way that we practice and the things that we do the attention to detail I’ve never experienced before but he does it in a way that’s like kind of crazy like can you give us an example uh I mean I don’t know it I mean we we all family here man have some fun man let us you can let the count the B man you’re we can go through half in practice just not dribbling the ball you know what I’m saying just passing getting open and and even though we doing that it’s like we went back to the fundamentals those are things that you teach young kids to do and even though we’re professionals like sometimes we also need to do that where and and I feel like it it brought us together as a team it made us play play more it made us make the right plays and and make the right passes for the next person aha habits I said it they have great habits and that’s what he’s talking about things like that it takes mental toughness to go through a whole practice and not dribble and just keep passing and cutting and keep passing and cutting until you get the shots you want they built those habits it just it doesn’t just happen on the game night or in the finals this is something they’ve been doing and building since training camp you won titles now with two very different teams both very good defensive teams obviously is there a common denominator if you’re telling somebody who’s starting an NBA team what it takes to win a championship where do you begin uh get Drew holiday nah thanks yeah appreciate you Brad thank you thank you for having me uh one I would say defense um I feel like every Champion for the last what 10 or 15 years they’ve at least been in the top five in defense in the league um and another thing I just feel like is uh having that cohesion on the on the court um kind of like what you talked about having those habits and building those habits it didn’t just start with the players like it started with Brad it started with upper management and and it trickled down so um those are probably the two keys I would say and have fun playing have fun doing this cuz a lot more fun when you win championships oh yeah it’s a lot more a lot more real fun well I hope you canot stress about about next season cuz you just you got a parade and you know you just want a thing conf here got to enjoy tonight enjoy tonight got to enjoy tonight we will enjoy tonight sure that draft work out tomorrow will be fun oh my good I won’t be that’s the coach mind right there it is he punching the clock tomorrow morning who scheduled that wow Brad Stevens Drew holiday congratulations

Celtics president of basketball ops Brad Stevens and Jrue Holiday join NBA TV after the Celtics win the 2024 NBA Finals.

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