Celtics' Jrue Holiday Offers Concerning Update on Brutal Finger Injury

Ricardo Klein | Mar 2, 2025

Jan 31, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are one of the deepest and arguably the best team in the league. They will likely remain the second seed in the Eastern Conference; nonetheless, the road goes through Boston, as they remain the defending champions. 

The Celtics have a great chance to be the last team standing once again, but they could be without their star point guard, Jrue Holiday, in the meantime. 

Holiday provided a not-so-great update on his finger injury. 

Holiday has a splint on the finger already and hasn’t yet worked through the process of what it’ll feel like to catch, handle and shoot because of the pain.

He’d never heard of mallet finger previously: “They just told me that I broke my finger.” pic.twitter.com/rKqbDHpZGx

— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) March 2, 2025

“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t really hear of the term 'mallet finger' until people were telling me I had mallet finger,” Holiday said. “They just told me that I broke my finger.”

“Next thing you know,” he added, “I’m in a cast.”

Holiday added that he doesn't know how long he could be out.

“I’ve jammed a lot of fingers, but never really had this before, I don’t think. I’m gonna be in the splint for a while… I gotta keep it straight for as long as possible.

“Shooting, dribbling, catching, it’s probably all pretty weird," said Holiday. 

Holiday has a mallet finger. Cleveland Clinic explained what that is. 

"It happens when you injure the extensor tendon that extends the tip of your finger (terminal extensor). If this tendon gets torn, cut or displaced, it won't be able to pull your finger joint straight," according to the Cleveland Clinic. "It can happen when something hard hits your extended fingertip, like a flying ball that you're trying to catch. You may also get it by accidentally striking your fingertip or getting it caught in a door."

The injury usually requires one to be out for about six to eight weeks and may require surgery. 

However, it is unclear how long he could be out for. Holiday was unable to go for the team's recent game on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets.

The 34-year-old played a vital role for the Celtics last season, but that has not been the case this season. Thus far, he has played in 47 games while averaging 10.8 points while shooting just 34.2 percent from three-point range to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. 

The last time he was on the court, it was not his best outing, recording four points on 20 percent shooting from the field, two rebounds, and six assists. 

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For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.