Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday were personally delivered their Team USA jerseys by Grant Hill

BOSTON -- It's no surprise that Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday will be back on Team USA this summer for the Olympics games in Paris. But both Celtics stars were a bit surprised when Grant Hill showed up at their house recently to pass along their Team USA jerseys.

Hill, who has his own gold medal from the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, was recruited to personally deliver jerseys to several members of Team USA and make sure they're still committed to playing for the team. Nobody turned him down in his travels, because who in their right mind would turn down a chance to play for Team USA?

"Are you good? Are you with us?" Hill asked Tatum after showing up at his doorstep.

"Hell yeah," Tatum replied.

Hill then found himself in Holiday's kitchen, and with the help of the Boston point guard's daughter, J.T., got Holiday to commit too. 

"I would love to," replied a surprised Holiday. "I think to represent my country and my family is the most important thing. So I'm super honored and very humble."

Holiday is not a fan of surprises, and Hill said as much as he presented Holiday with his jersey.  After the idle Cetlics wrapped up their practice in Brighton on Wednesday, Holiday discussed his shock to see Hill walking through his kitchen.

"Very random. I didn't see that coming and I thought my wife was better than that. She usually warns me or something, but she didn't warn me," said Holiday. "But it was cool. He came to give me the jersey, ask me to be on the National team and congratulate me. It's really exciting."

"I'm honored," Tatum said Wednesday. "It's something I always wanted to do growing up and I'm excited about my second opportunity to play in the Olympics this summer." 

As they did when they helped Team USA bring home Olympic gold at the 2020 Tokyo games, Tatum will wear the No. 10 jersey while Holiday will sport the No. 12. 

Holiday was pretty rushed at the Tokyo games, which were actually played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the same summer that Holiday helped the Milwaukee Bucks win an NBA Championship, and he was in Tokyo just a few days after the celebration ended. He played in a game the same night that he landed.

That was a good thing for the country, because Holiday was a huge reason why Team USA won gold that summer, averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 3.8 assists per game to go along with some stifling perimeter defense. Team USA reserved a spot for the veteran guard on this year's squad, hoping he'd be back for more.

The pandemic kept his previous Olympic experience reserved to just basketball. This time around, Holiday is really hoping to soak up everything that goes with playing in the Olympics.

"It's going to be a lot different, just being able to be more open, go to different events and see different pro athletes from around the world," he said.

Tatum is slated to be a starter this summer, after he averaged 20.5 points off 49.3 percent shooting over his six games in Tokyo. He's honored to once again be wearing the No. 10 jersey, which Kobe Bryant occupied when he won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012.

"Extremely special. I played on three USA teams in high school and got to wear No. 10 all three of those years, knowing my favorite player wore No. 10 for national games," he said. "It's something I don't take for granted or lightly."

Team USA will begin its preparations for the Olympics with a training camp in Las Vegas starting on July 6, followed by a five-game exhibition slate that will be played in Vegas, London, and Abu Dhabi. The Paris games begin on July 26, with Team USA set to play their first game on July 28 against Serbia.

But before going for Olympic gold again, Tatum and Holiday will be trying to bring another NBA Championship to Boston. It could be one heck of a summer for that duo.