The 2023-24 NBA season is off to a bit of a competitive start, internally speaking, for the Boston Celtics. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday revealed they are hosting a block contest. Inside the studio, just steps away from the Auerbach Center’s turf playground, on an early September afternoon, last season’s friendly rivalry is the first topic of discussion.
Jru immediately points to Derrick, the winner.
“I won the blocks, I think Jrue won the steals. I was pretty confident I was going to beat him in blocks and we found that out,” Derrick says before giving Jrue a quick look as he prepares for a potential comeback. “Stock exchange, both count,” he continues.
Steals, blocks, 30-pointers and everything in between, it’s no exaggeration to say that the Celtics’ starting guards do anything and everything it takes to win. And as a result, they experienced a summer that only six other NBA players have ever had. won an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in two months. Now add SLAM cover stars to that list. They just won’t stop winning.
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Derrick White and Jrue Holiday just aren’t committed to their many, many responsibilities. They achieve greatness through them. They excel at being great at everything, so they can fill any role needed at a moment’s notice. They protect the best players regardless of position. They initiate the offense. They operate outside of the dunk site. They put their bodies on the line. They make the game easy for everyone around them. So when it came to building the US Men’s National Team in 2024, the transition from the Cs was almost seamless.
Jrue started three of the team’s six games as the starting point guard, dropping 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in the opener against Serbia. Off the bench, Derrick went 3-3 from downtown and grabbed 3 goals against South Sudan. While the surrounding cast of superstars soaked up the spotlight, Derrick and Jrue kept the intangibles in the background.
“Everybody was making a big deal about the roles, and everybody got to play a little bit differently. But for me and Jroux, we just played the way we play, just did the same things we do with Boston,” Derrick said of playing with Team USA in Paris. “We didn’t have to change much. Obviously the minutes and everything looked different, but I didn’t feel like I had to go in there and be someone I wasn’t or change anything.”
There’s a stoic confidence in Derrick White that has been fully realized by the rest of the league’s fans after he’s been torched time and time again by the Parker, CO native. From the accolades in Boston to the all-star chants in San Antonio, where Derrick spent his first five years in the L, last year’s campaign was the best of his career; in one game. A ridiculous 39.6 percent shooting from three.
The playoffs were his playground. Thirty-eight against Miami in Game 4 of the opening round. Four blocks in Game 3 at Pacers. Five thefts in two nights.
But it’s an absurd amount of blocks that Jru is constantly surprised by. 87 on the season to be exact. Go to YouTube and there’s a three-and-a-half-minute master class dedicated solely to edge protection.
“No one else in the league can do it the same way,” Jrue said of Derrick. “He blocks shots like a big man. It’s amazing to me. Not only does he have the talent, ability, timing to stop the shot, he also guards your best perimeter player where in this league that superb it’s hard to protect anyone. To have a teammate like that and to know that there’s absolutely no flight, I feel for other people, it’s scary, but it’s exciting to know that every night is going to be tough for any team.
“Putting on this jersey is not easy. There is a lot of pressure related to that,” Jryu continues. “Even the season he had is a testament to the work he has done. How he plays, how he came out and played since the beginning of the season, how he led the team. Even starting us off in Miami like the first series. I mean, straight up cooking. It means a lot to us, but he put in the work.”
There is a common theme during our conversation. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are unselfish to the core. They can’t help but give the other their flowers. It’s not just how they play, it’s who they are. Compliments are tossed back and forth as if in a circle. They earned them. And as both can attest, these are lifelong habits.
“I think our parents did a good job of raising us and were able to show us that giving is the way, and so I guess you get happiness by serving other people,” Jrue says. “I think over time you start to understand that serving others is very important. For us, I think it just translates to our game. Yes, the stock market.”
The joy they seek does not come from posting a career high. Winning takes care of that, along with passing and a persistent display of defensive brilliance that lead to 64 regular-season wins and a shiny gold hardware.
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A mix of pride, skill and fearlessness anchors the Celtics’ two blocking artists. Sprinting back on the D! Ball removal on drives. Deviations on the side of help. Cutting the pick-and-roll. Diving for loose balls while cutting teeth. It is a concerted effort of chaotic beauty.
“As long as I’ve been in the league, it’s been known that Jrue is the elite of the elite in that direction. Just being on this team, you see how guys don’t even want to throw the ball when it’s on them. They see Jrue as such. Give it to someone else, let them understandsays Derrick. “Playing against him, you really get a deeper appreciation by seeing it on the night
and night out.”
While Derrick had two seasons to adjust to playing alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Co., Jrue arrived in Boston on the first day of training camp. With a few weeks left in the season, Derrick was already comfortable taking over the unit. So the two worked out what their version of the Celtics offense would look like. The more they got together, the more comfortable they felt.
“When we went into training camp, Derrick was so confident at point guard that it helped me,” Jrue said. “I think being able to mirror him from the beginning was great for me. Him being confident and knowing that I’m here to lead the team and do whatever it takes to win, that gave me confidence, knowing full well, If I follow him and follow his direction, I’ll be fine“.
More often than not, Jrue led the way throughout his career. In Philly, New Orleans, Milwaukee, every stop showed him as the head honcho in crime. Then 33 years old, entering a situation that was already somewhat entrenched, Jrue’s mindset was the same as always. help where he needs it.
Averages of 12.5 points and 4.8 assists per game may have been down from previous years, but the game is much bigger than the stats provide context. Jrue’s work this season hasn’t always shown up in the box score, unlike his career-high 5.4 rebounds, but it has more than resonated with the team and the greater Boston area.
“This season, I feel like Boston is like our game. Hard nosed, blue collar, no excuses. Whatever is asked of me, I will do, and I feel like the city of Boston is like that,” Jrue says. “You have to see these fans. I’m telling you, literally from the first preseason game to the last game of the season, they’ve been there cheering, they’ve been there cheering like I’ve never seen before. It’s like one of the craziest experiences I’ve been a part of. I feel like they appreciate it because (they) understand my game and how I play.”
Recognition is shared from Dorchester to the front office, with Jrue and Derrick signing four-year, nine-figure contract extensions. The league’s best defensive backfield is back in Boston, along with the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Although they are installed in their green and white icon threads, an overwhelming amount of gold fills the facility. Light dances off the Olympic gold medals that hang around their necks, reflecting the finals trophy that they carefully hand to each other. Standing in front of a row of pad bleachers, even here one can feel the weight of the 18 championship banners hanging from left to left.
Derrick and Jrue know the expectations will be higher next season, and they’re embracing it. They lean even more on the confidence they’ve built in the backfield and the infamous mindset of head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“Right now we’re just getting back into it, getting our minds right. Knowing that when the season starts, Joe will have us ready to go,” Derrick says before Jrue laughs.
“It definitely is,” he says.
“He’s probably more excited than anyone to have a target on our back. You’ve all heard the quote. It’s legit who he is. That’s the kind of guy you want to play for,” says Derrick. “Last year was last year. You just have to continue to have the same mindset of getting better, improving and focusing on the things we’re doing.”
Portraits by Marcus Stevens.
