Boston Celtics fans can start planning out which games they’d like to be in the building for at TD Garden, or at the very least, seated on the couch with their evening cleared so they can watch live. The NBA released its schedule for the 2025-26 season on Wednesday, sharing the full 82-game slate for all 30 teams.
Old friends returning to TD Garden will steal the spotlight in terms of marquee matchups this season, rather than two championship-level teams getting a chance to prove themselves.
On Jan. 26, 2026, Jrue Holiday will be back in Boston with the Portland Trail Blazers to face off against his old team. Holiday was dealt to Portland back in June, in the deal that landed the Cs Anfernee Simons, as well as $7 million in salary cap relief.
Offloading him and his remaining $104 million salary for the next three seasons was, unfortunately, necessary towards the team’s goal of evading the league’s second-apron threshold and the significant consequences that come with spending above it.
"We've known for a long time that hard decisions were coming," Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said of the team’s offseason firesale. "The second apron is why those trades happened. I think that is pretty obvious. And the basketball penalties associated with those are real. ... So that was part of making the decision to push and put our chips on the table and go for the last two years."
Jrue Holiday's commitment to winning has made him a Celtic for life
Holiday was an unbelievable fit in Boston from the start. He joined the Celtics right before the 2023 preseason in a surprising October trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s remarkable how quickly everything gelled together, considering the sheer amount of talent that had made its way to the North End in the offseason. There were hardly any growing pains as both Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis took on watered-down roles, putting the team first.
Throughout his two seasons with the Celtics, the former UCLA standout consistently shapeshifted and played whatever role was asked of him. There were nights he’d score 20+ points, and then others where he’d have five, but have expended his energy shutting down the opposing team’s best player -- regardless of their size.
One of the most unique traits that Holiday brought to the Celtics was his ability to defend centers in the post. Joe Mazzulla would actually match the All-Defensive guard up against guys like Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle on purpose, trusting him to make their nights difficult.
Holiday’s shapeshiting ability was never on display more than in the 2024 playoffs. After spending the regular season taking the fewest shots since his rookie campaign in the 2009-10 league year, he rose to the moment on several occasions en route to Banner 18.
Jrue gave himself a real chance to be named the Eastern Conference Finals MVP when he logged 18.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game on 58.7% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc. Not to mention that he had a game-sealing stop in Game 3, stealing the ball from Andrew Nembhard to secure a 3-0 series lead for Boston.
He also had an incredible 26-point performance in Game 2 of the Finals. Holiday’s ability to cut without the basketball and stay ready on the perimeter made him deadly against the Dallas Mavericks.
Holiday’s return to TD Garden will certainly be an emotional night. There’s no question that the fanbase understands and appreciates the amount of selflessness he showed during his time with the Celtics.