"We Were Shocked" - 2x NBA Champ Jrue Holiday Reveals Initial Reaction To Chauncey Billups' Shock Arrest

Jrue Holiday was shocked to know that he and his teammates won't have their head coach, Chauncey Billups, by their side for quite some time. On Oct. 23, the Blazers' coach was arrested in a federal investigation related to illegal gambling.

Billups was arrested and presented in court on the same day. The Blazers coach had to step down from his coaching job momentarily while being a suspect in the investigation. The Blazers appointed assistant coach Tiago Splitter as the interim head coach in Billups' absence.

The Blazers secured a surprise 139-119 win over the Warriors on Friday. Following the win, Holiday spoke with the press and expressed his views on his coach's arrest.

"Honestly," Holiday said, "we were shocked," Holiday said on Billups' arrest.

Jrue Holiday was one of the highly sought-after role players in the league after his 2021 championship run with the Bucks. He was a proper third option to pair with any superstar duo. The Celtics did exactly that, and brought in Holiday to play alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The veteran guard fortified the Celts' defense, improved their perimeter scoring options, and helped the Celtics win the 2024 NBA championship.

However, after Tatum got sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury in the 2025 playoffs, the Celtics knew they had to cut down expenses and make cap space, as the chances of making a championship run without Tatum were quite low. They traded Jrue Holiday to the Blazers in the summer.

After arriving in Portland, the veteran guard formed a close bond with Billups.

"Chauncey really did me a solid the first time I was traded here, just being able to see things through my lens and ask me what I wanted," Holiday told ESPN. "Not many coaches would do that. But he understood because he was also a player in this league."

The Blazers have held their own without their head coach by their side. They are on a two-game winning streak, and have a 3-2 record in the first five games of the season.

Chauncey Billups was delighted to have Jrue Holiday on his side

Chauncey Billups was very happy to have Jrue Holiday come over to Portland from Boston during the summer. During an interview on the sidelines of a Blazers' summer league game, Billups revealed that he was delighted to have the Holiday as a veteran presence on his squad.

"Yeah, I'm just so happy to have Jrue, and I had such an incredible time coaching Anfernee...to get a guy like Jrue, what better guy in the league to have raise Scoot and Shaedon than Jrue Holiday," He said. (Timestamp: 3:02)

Unfortunately, Billups has lost the opportunity to coach the veteran guard for the time being. He is on an indefinite leave from the league until futhur progressions in the federal case.