Jrue Holiday Q&A: On Celtics' Title Defense, Zenni Optical Collection, and Working With Jaylen Brown

Sports Illustrated: You’re the only player on the Celtics with experience defending a title. Was there any advice you brought to the table as the team kicked off its quest to repeat and win another championship?

Jrue Holiday: Just that it’s not sweet. It’s hard. But that’s a good thing. It’s good to have a challenge and then have another challenge. Last year it was about Banner 18 and being able to embark on that journey and be able to do that together with all the pressure that comes with it. You have the Jays and they had been so close to winning and all that, I think finally doing it kind of takes a weight off their shoulders and even off ours. When I first got here, that’s all that was talked about, was Banner 18. From the first day I got here, the championship was what our goal was. And now our goal is to repeat.

It’s about having the same mindset but somewhat different in that, obviously we did it before. People are going to try to knock us down, knock us off. But to be able to go through each game, especially during the regular season, and learn from it. To win games, to have games like when we lost to Atlanta (on November 12) and then the next night have a good bounce-back game against Brooklyn, I think is huge. We learned from that Atlanta game and we showed it in the Brooklyn game. Little things like that will help us get to where we want to get to.

SI: As time goes on, what sticks out to you the most about the championship season in Boston?

JH: For me personally, there’s a lot that sticks out. One, I got there the day of training camp. Literally the first day of training camp I couldn’t practice because I wasn’t cleared yet. So already I felt like I’m behind the eight-ball, whereas everyone else already has a feel for each other because they’ve been there all summer. That was weird. And then, me personally having a different role. Having a different role than I’ve ever had in my career before. Which was fun in itself. It was challenging and I feel like a challenge for me is always fun. It’s a way for me to become a better basketball player.

And then seeing guys excel. Obviously seeing JT and JB do what they do, but seeing Derrick White kind of come into his, what I feel, is an All-Star form. He had a great chance of being an All-Star last year. To see him carry this team, run the offense, play point guard, get everybody involved and do that the whole season was pretty cool. Getting to know Joe and the coaching staff more was also cool.

Once we made it to the playoffs, there were so many times during the regular season that we had been through a challenge and it actually applied to us in the playoffs. Like losing to Indiana to go to the In-Season Tournament semifinals and then having to play them in the Eastern Conference Finals. Little things like that where you can take away those types of situations in the regular season and apply them into the playoffs was huge for us developmentally-wise.

SI: As you mentioned, you got to Boston really late last season and had to pick up the team’s playbook and philosophy basically on the fly. That sort of thing seems really difficult in ways fans can’t really understand. Can you speak to the kind of difference it makes to be comfortable in Mazzulla’s scheme and understanding what the team is trying to do from the very first training camp?

JH: There’s a sense of comfort. There’s a sense of homeyness where, I wasn’t necessarily fighting or scrambling to understand my role or where I needed to be on the court. To stay out of the way or be in the way, understanding where I could help make an impact on the floor. I feel like after you go through the ringer and the fire and you win together, that next season is pretty fluid.

This season has been pretty fluid so far in terms of where players like to play, their game, what they like to do, their tendencies. And we haven’t even added Kristaps Porzingis back in yet. I think being able to have that comfortability has been great from my perspective in terms of what I feel like I bring to the game and what I bring to our team.

SI: How did this partnership with Zenni begin? 

JH: They sponsor the Celtics. Great sponsorship. They started in 2023, obviously around the time I got there, and I ended up finding out they do a lot in the community. Being huge in the community is something my wife and I are passionate about. They make the glasses, they’re very affordable, very very durable. I guess it was something I felt like a partnership would be awesome. Then, you know, fashion in basketball is huge. In the world in general, but in basketball it’s huge. We have our own stage and runway, we can show off our style. I feel like we collab on things and their style is my style. Meeting the team, talking to them, having great conversations and then setting up some things where we started a collection together to be able to, not only share with the world, but kind of show off a little bit of my style and how I want to be perceived. 

SI: In the announcement of the partnership, you say you’re proud to align with Zenni’s vision to make eyewear accessible for all. Can you talk more about that?

JH: Again, very affordable eyewear. Not expensive at all. That’s one of the biggest things. Sometimes when you see this eyewear, you can see they’re very expensive. I know there’s young kids that need glasses. My kids don’t as of yet but my wife does, my sister does. I remember as a young kid my sister needed them and you just don’t have enough money for them. To be able to get a nice frame, something that looks stylish, to be able to go out there with confidence is huge. To give back to the community that way, make it affordable, make it durable, and make it stylish, I feel like there’s nothing better. 

SI: What do you enjoy most about working with them?

JH: We bounce things off each other. I’m not a stylist. I don’t know how to create the frames. But collabing with them and them showing me options and giving me feedback and me giving them feedback is something that builds confidence in me. To be able to go out there and play the best I can. Not only that but to always being on a screen or out in the public, having that confidence like, ‘Yeah, I look good. I’m presentable,’ is something I feel like is huge confidence-wise.

SI: You’ve been in the NBA for a while now and have come across countless endorsement opportunities. What’s your process for deciding to work with a company like Zenni at the level where you have your own line of apparel?

JH: For me a lot of it is relational and feel. Relational, feel, and I would say community. I have a big community. I have two brothers in the league, I have a sister who played basketball, and I feel like I’ve built a lot of friends who are family now through this community which is basketball, which is the NBA. We try to give back to the community that raised me as well as my wife. We try to give back to the community here in Boston as well as in New Orleans and Milwaukee, where I played. Community has been huge and is something that I look for in partnering and Zenni was huge in that. So much support for the community here in Boston, but as well with my endeavors.

We’ll be doing something with my Jrue & Lauren Holiday Fund, we have giveaways and things like that. I think community is huge. At the same time, they just came with the swag. Which builds confidence in people. I think looks can be important. Looks can be important because of how it makes yourself feel, how you look at yourself and how you feel about yourself. Those two things were huge for me in choosing to partner with Zenni, and that’s definitely what I look for. 

SI: What are your favorite frames from the collection?

JH: I just walked down the runway, like last week, with these bluish black frames that kind of look like baseball glasses. I know those are kind of hot now. They didn’t have different color frames where it goes from green to red or whatever but I thought that they were fire. That was one of them.

Then obviously what I’m wearing right now, I wear these all the time. Blue light glasses. Being on the road, always being on an iPad or a computer, being on my phone, being on the bus or the plane watching film, there’s a lot of time I’m on a screen. To be able to watch a screen and then be able to get optimal sleep is huge for me. Especially because, after our game against the Nets, we didn’t get back to Boston until about 2 a.m. Getting sleep is one of the biggest things and I can really tell the difference between when I wear them and when I don’t wear them. My eyes are usually strained and I feel like they’re hurting. When I do wear them it gives me a better chance of going to sleep faster and sleeping for longer. 

SI: Are you going to try and get your teammates on the Zenni train?

JH: I tried. I pass out glasses here and there, especially the blue light frames. I definitely think that you’ll see some of my teammates in some of the eyewear. For the ones that wear it. We have a good mix of stylish guys who will wear sunglasses and stuff like that. I think you’ll definitely see a couple people wearing some of these frames. 

SI: Do you think they’re weird enough for Jaylen Brown to wear?

JH: You know what? That is a great question. I don’t know. Jaylen is definitely different. He has his own style. I mean, I think there’s a nice enough collection where JB would like a few of them, for sure. 

SI: Earlier this year, your JLH foundation announced a partnership with Jaylen Brown that will invest millions into small businesses in Boston. How important is it to you to make an impact beyond the surface level in your community?

JH: I think JLH and Boston XChange, that collab was in my opinion needed. Jaylen has been here, he’s been in the city, he already has roots here. He knows about different companies and brands and really just the culture here in Boston because he’s been here for so long and been in tune. That’s something my wife and I are passionate about because we feel like we wouldn’t be here without our community. We have so many people that have touched our lives, that have touched my life. Who have bene able to keep me on the right path, keep me safe, to give me a chance or a second chance.

I feel like that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to be servants and we’re here to serve the community— the underserved, the people that maybe get looked over. As well as the people that are doing a great job and might just need a little boost, a little bit of help. I think that’s one of our biggest passions besides our sport and being able to give back and see people’s dreams really flourish and come true is something that gives you a great feeling. And we want nothing from them. We really just want to see them succeed and be as happy as possible. We want to continue to grow this thing and make it better and better. 

SI: Have you ever done something at this scale with a teammate before?

JH: No. This is the first time with a teammate. I think for the most part, teammates show up for you, you know? If you have an event or something going on, they’ll show up for you and do all that. But to find a teammate that has similar passions as you in terms of this type of endeavor is a bit unique. I know Jaylen has been huge in this city and I know other guys have too but I think me and Jaylen’s ideals align a lot. To be able to collab as two players who are pretty strong-minded, to make it work has been a unique experience and a really great experience. 

Guys want to do what they want to do with their money and they have their own ideas. I respect it. I think it’s awesome. But I think to be able to compromise and collab and be able to work together, it’s just like a team. That’s how you win a championship. To be able to put an idea or whatever it is at the forefront and make the best thing happen.