Familiar faces: How four ex-Celtics have fared with new teams

Familiar faces: How four ex-Celtics have fared with new teams originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Celtics are in the process of forming a new identity.

Boston fans are getting to know the likes of Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Hugo Gonzalez while seeing if bench players like Jordan Walsh can carve out bigger roles.

But you’d forgive us if we weren’t a bit curious about our old friends.

The Celtics parted ways with four members of their 2023-24 championship squad this past offseason — Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers, Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks, Al Horford to the Golden State Warriors and Luke Kornet to the San Antonio Spurs.

All four players were fan favorites in Boston, and the returns of all four players to TD Garden this season will generate plenty of fanfare. Which begs the question: How are they faring with their new teams so far?

With the Celtics on a mini three-day hiatus until Sunday, let’s check in on Holiday, Porzingis, Horford and Kornet.

Jrue Holiday, Blazers

• 2025-26 stats: 11 games, 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.6 steals, 44.6 percent FG, 35.9 percent 3PT

Holiday may not have been thrilled about being traded from Boston to Portland, but he’s certainly making the most of his new situation.

The 35-year-old guard has logged 33.7 minutes per night (second on the team only to Deni Avdija) and is one of four players averaging at least 17 points per game for the upstart Blazers, who are 6-5 through 11 games.

Holiday has been most impressive in the playmaking department — his 8.5 assists per game rank seventh in the NBA, and he already has four double-doubles on the season. Of the four ex-Celtics on this list, Holiday has had the biggest impact on winning with his new club.

Kristaps Porzingis, Hawks

• 2025-26 stats: 9 games, 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 blocks, 43.0 percent FG, 31.1 percent 3PT

The Hawks are already getting the full Kristaps Porzingis experience in Atlanta.

The 7-foot-2 big man has been a rock-solid offensive contributor, reaching double figures in all nine of his starts with three 20-point efforts. He’s also been an excellent rim protector of late, with a whopping nine blocks over his last three games.

Porzingis already has missed a quarter of Atlanta’s games, however, and is tied for seventh on the team in net rating (3.0), in part due to some recent struggles on the glass: He’s only tallied more than four rebounds once in his last four games.

Al Horford, Warriors

• 2025-26 stats: 8 games, 6.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 blocks, 36.0 percent FG, 33.3 percent 3PT

Horford had a rough start to his Golden State tenure, shooting just 29.7 percent from the floor through his first six games going 5-for-24 from 3-point range. He’s found his shot of late, though, going a combined 7-for-12 from distance in his last two games for a combined 21 points. (Side note: 72 percent of Horford’s field goal attempts this season have been 3-pointers.)

As expected, the Warriors are managing Horford’s workload; the 39-year-old ranks 10th on the team in total minutes played (172) and has rested on the second night of back-to-backs. As was the case in Boston, Golden State’s goal will be to ensure Horford is healthy for the postseason.

Luke Kornet, Spurs

• 2025-26 stats: 4 games, 11.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 blocks, 79.2 percent FG

First things first: Whoever came up with the “French Vanilla” nickname for Kornet and fellow San Antonio 7-footer Victor Wembanyama is a genius.

Kornet missed seven of the Spurs’ first nine games due to a sprained ankle, so we’re working with a small sample size. But he’s been excellent in his first two games back from injury, scoring a combined 28 points on a perfect 12-for-12 shooting while serving as a lethal lob threat.

We’ll take an extra-large French Vanilla, please.