Celtics star Jrue Holiday rubs salt in the wound of Lakers 2023 offseason blunder

The rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers has defined generations of professional basketball. They first met in the NBA Finals in 1959 and have encountered one another in the championship round on a record 12 different occasions.

This past season, Boston pulled ahead of Los Angeles by winning the 18th championship in franchise history—one more than the Lakers' 17.

The Celtics' recent success has been achieved by constantly improving the supporting cast during the Brad Stevens executive era. Perhaps no offseason move has proven more significant than the 2023 addition of Jrue Holiday—who has since revealed a new source of pain for Lakers fans.

In an interview with Conor Ryan of Boston.com, Holiday revealed that being a Lakers fan made it strange for him to suddenly play for the Celtics.

“I’m from L.A. I grew up a Lakers fan. So putting on the green was a bit weird for me, like on the first day,” Holiday said of first joining Boston. “And then once I kind of got used to the green — we win the championship. … Once I kind of just got acclimated to the city, and the fans — this [championship], it’s crazy. I feel like I keep on saying that, but there’s no word that can describe the feeling when you win that championship.”

That alone is an interesting discussion to have about fan dynamics among the actual NBA players, but the bigger revelation is that the Lakers missed out on a golden opportunity in 2023.

L.A. lost a Lakers fan to the Celtics by not trading for Jrue Holiday

Holiday entered the 2023 offseason as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. He was included in the trade that sent Damian Lillard to Wisconsin, however, and was all but instantly placed on the trade market by the Portland Trail Blazers.

In what was immediately panned as a lopsided trade, the Celtics acquired Holiday for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, and two future first-round draft picks.

It's fair to question how lopsided the trade actually was, but nothing that was sent Portland's way exceeded the value that the Lakers could've provided in a potential deal. Williams has impressed as a rim protector, but he's also endured a myriad of injuries—playing just 35 games in 2022-23.

Brogdon and the picks are certainly valuable, but the Lakers could've shipped out multiple first-round draft picks, a veteran, and an upside player if that was all it took.

Holiday has since gone on to become a two-time NBA champion, pairing the title he won in Milwaukee with the 2023-24 championship he secured with Boston. He scored a team-high 26 points in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals, and tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds in the closeout game.

Holiday complements his two NBA championships with two Olympic gold medals, two All-Star Game appearances, and six All-Defense selections.

Instead of bringing that value to Los Angeles, the Lakers watched as the Celtics added the missing piece to their championship puzzle. It stings to know that they not only failed to pay an affordable price, but also lost a Lakers fan to their most bitter of rivals in the process.

In an alternate reality, Holiday is sharing a backcourt with Austin Reaves, and the Lakers have given Anthony Davis and LeBron James what they need to win another title.

In the world we live in, a Lakers fan just helped the Celtics win a championship—and should've been in Los Angeles all along.