Bucks’ Khris Middleton admits feeling ‘scared’ when seeing Jrue Holiday in Celtics shirt: “I..

Milwaukee Bucks star Khris Middleton explains his feelings on matchup with Celtics guard and former teammate Jrue Holiday.

Milwaukee Bucks fans aren’t the only ones who will have to adjust watching Jrue Holiday face off against his former team as a member of the Boston Celtics.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s highly anticipated battle between the Eastern Conference powers, Khris Middleton noted how “weird” it will be to play against Holiday, a leader, culture-setter and champion with the Bucks before he was traded in late September.

“It’s going to be weird seeing him in a Celtic uniform, but I guess we got to get used to it,” Middleton said of Holiday, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

“But it’s going to be fun competing against him. We’ve had a lot of great battles together, so I know what he’s about on the Celtics’ side. I think it should be a fun, interesting matchup for sure.”

Holiday spent three years in Milwaukee after he was acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans in a blockbuster trade shortly before tipoff of the 2020-21 season.

He immediately vaulted the Bucks to higher levels on both sides of the ball, Holiday’s addition culminating in the franchise’s first championship since since 1971.

Milwaukee faltered each of the last two seasons, though, losing a seven-game battle with the Celtics—as an injured Middleton watched from the sidelines—in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals before the Miami Heat upset the Bucks in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

Coach Mike Budenholzer was fired just days later, and Giannis Antetokounmpo began publicly questioning his future in Milwaukee, spurring the front office to action that ultimately landed Holiday in Boston and Damian Lillard with the Bucks. Antetokounmpo signed an extension shortly thereafter.

Clearly, there’s no bad blood between Holiday and his former team despite the emotional circumstances of his departure. Milwaukee probably didn’t imagine that he’d find his way to Boston after trading Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Now that he’s ensconced in green-and-gold, though, all the Bucks can do is cherish memories they made with Holiday over the last few years—while hoping he doesn’t help lead the Celtics to similar success, of course.