At the White House, baby Jrue Powell meets the Celtics star he was named after

Celtics

Jrue Powell, born at 6:17 p.m. the night the Celtics clinched their record 18th title, met his namesake at the White House on Thursday.

WASHINGTON D.C. — Whether it’s making the right reads within the halfcourt offense to hit open teammates for open looks, or having the instincts to reach for a a steal in a clutch moment, timing is a huge part of Jrue Holiday’s game.

And for Celtics fans, could there be a better time to welcome a son into the world than the night Boston clinched their NBA-record NBA title last summer?

Dorchester residents Rashaan and Annabel Powell had their second son at 6:17 p.m. on June 17, a couple of hours before the Celtics tipped off Game 5 against the Mavericks.

They named him Jrue in honor of Holiday. It was a game-time decision that was swung by the Celtics’ win, Annabel Powell said.

“It started with a friend kind of joking because we’re set on Crew, and she said ‘if the Celtics win you should name him Jrue,” she said. “We were like ‘ha, ha, ha’ and then we were like ‘actually that’s really unique.’”

“We love the way he plays and everything he and his wife do,” she added. “So, we were like ‘that’s really fun.’ Last minute, we were like ‘Are we actually going to do this?’ And then we did.”

On Thursday, the couple made the trip from Boston to see the Celtics celebrate at the White House. They brought baby Jrue, wrapped tightly in his mother’s arms and wearing a fuzzy gray Jordan Brand hat.

‘Full-circle moment’ as baby Jrue meets his namesake

Baby Jrue met his namesake in the heart of the nation’s capital on the day the White House formally acknowledged the championship his hometown team won on his birthday.

“My favorite part of the ceremony was obviously meeting Jrue Holiday,” Rashaan Powell said. “And having him know a little bit about Jrue and say a couple of kind words to him. As a dad, that was a very amazing moment for me.”

“It was amazing. He was very nice,” Annabel Powell added. “He had some cute words for baby Jrue, so it was fun.”

Holiday posted a photo of himself, the couple, and baby Jrue on his Instagram story.

“I love that I finally got to meet you Jrue!!” Holiday wrote.

Holiday put up the peace sign as Jayson Tatum and Derrick White presented President Joe Biden with a customized Celtics jersey with his name and the number “46” on the back. Biden smiled as he held the jersey up and posed for a photo.

Later in the ceremony, Biden held up a basketball and pump-faked it before passing it to Al Horford.

“I thought it was funny. I wasn’t expecting a pump-fake,” guard Derrick White said. “We were kind of joking around that it’s hard to make a pass in a suit, so we were kind of impressed.”

It was an emotional day, Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck said. The last time the Celtics were at the White House was in 2008 during the George W. Bush administration.

Biden praised the Celtics for building one of the deepest NBA teams of all time. He brought up an old quote from Red Auerbach: “The Celtics are not a basketball team, they are a way of life.”

“This was a very exciting and moving day,” Grousbeck said. “We had not been focused on this. We got through the banner ceremony and opening night and then it was all business … It was just a meaningful day. We thought his remarks about the Celtics were amazing and we took them to heart and appreciated them. The whole thing was a very special day.”

By the end of the ceremony, the Powells were ready to get baby Jrue out of the cold weather. It was a cool 43 degrees, and the Washington sky was filled with clouds.

They took in a piece of history with their son, who had yet to turn a year old. Sixty-five years after the franchise’s first title, a young Bostonian got his introduction to the Celtics’ way of life.

“It’s just a really good experience,” Rashaan Powell said. “Just a full-circle moment getting to experience it with our son, who we named after a player that we look up to and admire. … It was just a very surreal moment.”