Jrue Vacation reached out to a beloved ex-Celtics guard earlier than selecting the No. 4 jersey

Celtics

“Been tremendous shut with the vacation household since 2008! That’s my dawg.”

Jrue Vacation is anticipated to function the Celtics’ place to begin guard this season. AP Photograph/Chris Szagola

Loads has modified for Jrue Vacation over the past month.

Not solely has the All-Star guard swapped out his Bucks jersey for Celtics inexperienced (with a quick layover in Portland alongside the way in which), however Vacation can be altering up his jersey quantity as he lands with one other high contender within the Japanese Convention.

The 33-year-old level guard wore No. 21 throughout his three seasons in Milwaukee — a quantity raised above the rafters at TD Backyard in honor of Corridor-of-Famer Invoice Sharman.

Vacation additionally wore No. 11 over his first 11 NBA campaigns cut up between the 76ers and Pelicans, however that quantity is at the moment occupied by Boston backup guard Payton Pritchard.

In the end, Vacation opted to put on No. 4 with the Celtics, invoking loads of recollections for followers who noticed one other level guard dominate on the parquet ground in an identical jersey. 

Chatting with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Vacation acknowledged that he selected No. 4 on account of each he and his three siblings — in addition to a tribute to former Celtics star Isaiah Thomas. 

Vacation added that he reached out to Thomas earlier than selecting No. 4 for his new jersey. 

Thomas, who wowed Celtics followers throughout his three seasons with Boston, gave Vacation a shoutout on X, the platform formally often known as Twitter, on Thursday afternoon.

“Been tremendous shut with the vacation household since 2008,” Thomas posted. “That’s my dawg. Go kill in that [expletive] familyyyyy lol”

Thomas nonetheless holds a particular place within the hearts of many Celtics followers for his high-scoring output on the courtroom, progress into an All-Star expertise and his tenacity on just a few scrappy Celtics rosters.

Vacation’s profile as a stout defensive stopper is a bit totally different from Thomas throughout his prime years in Boston.

However talking at his introductory press convention again on Oct. 4, Vacation famous that his depth and hustle mindset will likely be embraced by a fanbase like Boston’s.

“They’re a bit loopy. They get rowdy,” Vacation stated of Celtics followers throughout his presser. “They get in your face. Positively top-of-the-line sixth males within the league, if not one of the best. I like the aggression. I like the atmosphere.

“I believe they care extra about arduous work on protection and getting unfastened balls and stuff like that over possibly windmill dunks and issues of that nature. However once more, that’s the kind of man I’m. I’m ten toes to the bottom and I’m gonna push and grind as arduous as I can. So the followers are actually insane and I’m proud to be part of that coming into this yr.”