Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jrue Holiday hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2013, yet the 32-year-old is a key cog on an Eastern Conference powerhouse and one of the best defenders in the game.
Jrue Holiday has made only one All-Star team.
And he didn’t do it in New Orleans, where he starred for six seasons. Or in Milwaukee, where he won a championship in 2021.
He did it in Philadelphia at the age of 22 back in 2012-13. It was a strange transitional year for the 76ers. A year after taking the Celtics to seven games in the second round, the team traded Andre Iguodala fresh off his lone All-Star appearance, with the headliner of the return being Andrew Bynum.
It … didn’t work out.
Holiday’s fate was the same as Iguodala’s, and he was traded to the Pelicans the following offseason, kicking off the Sixers’ three-year tanking process.
Some in Philadelphia wonder what could’ve been with the “Show Ya Luv” squad, but Holiday has long since moved on.
“Not anymore,” he told SB Nation last week during his return to the Wells Fargo Center. “It’s been near 10 years. I think at this point I’ve heard it enough: ‘Man, if they would have kept you all together.’ And it’s like, they didn’t, so I don’t think about it anymore.”
That mindset is likely what makes the 32-year-old so good and arguably still so underrated. The focus on what’s in front of him and not looking back is what makes him one of the best defensive guards in the entire NBA. Even as a resurgent James Harden was carving up Milwaukee’s defense to the tune of 31 points and nine assists last Thursday, Holiday stayed locked in on the former MVP.
And on the final play of the game, Holiday was able to force Harden into a difficult midrange fadeaway which bounced off the rim, giving the Bucks a 90-88 win.
“He’s the head of our snake on defense,” Brook Lopez said postgame last Thursday. “He’s so great at getting into guards and making them uncomfortable and making them take tough shots.”
It was a brutal shooting night for Holiday. He went 2 of 15, missing all six of his threes. Still, he managed to impact the game in a big way. Early on, he exploited young phenom Tyrese Maxey, stressing and stretching the Sixers’ (so far) suspect defense. And his own defense certainly helped the Bucks hold the Sixers under 90 points.
But Holiday’s shooting improvement during his time in Milwaukee has made him even more valuable. For most of his career, he was a below league average shooter from deep, hitting 35.4 percent in his 11 seasons before becoming a Buck. Coming into this season, he’d hit over 40 percent from beyond the arc on a healthy volume in two seasons in Milwaukee.
It’s a testament to Holiday still improving as he entered his 30s and also the superior talent surrounding him.
“He does so many things well,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He’s such a great player; he’s been so good for us. But we do feel like he’s improved as a shooter. He’s put up some career years. So I think … his work ethic stands out to me. But hopefully you play with somebody like Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Khris [Middleton’s] decision-making and playmaking from the small-forward spot is very unique. Hopefully, Jrue is putting the work and time in and has improved as a shooter. …
“There’s just a good balance between those three guys and the whole roster. And I think he’s in a good place. I think the shooting has kind of been a positive, and we need it to grow and be even better.”
Holiday’s skill set helped the Bucks immensely in their championship run in 2021. The numbers belie his excellence and how instrumental he was in helping Milwaukee secure its first title since 1971.
P.J. Tucker, now a Sixer, joined the Bucks ahead of the trade deadline that year and played a huge role for Milwaukee that postseason. Though Tucker spent just 43 games as Holiday’s teammate (including the playoffs), Holiday made a lasting impression.
“He’s one of my favorite teammates of all time,” Tucker told SB Nation. “One of the best people off the court I’ve ever known. One of the best dudes I’ve ever known. Just a genuine dude. I could go on and on about Jrue.”
As far as whether Holiday is underrated, let’s just say Tucker has some thoughts.
“He should be six-time Defensive Player of the Year, at least,” Tucker said. “It’s a travesty for him to only [be named First Team All-Defense twice].”
Holiday has come a long way since his Sixers days. Those teams were stuck in NBA purgatory — not good enough to win anything of consequence, not bad enough to be in a position to draft high-end talent. The one-and-done UCLA product was a big-time success story as the 17th player selected in 2009.
In 2013, the Sixers acquired two players at higher draft slots than Holiday — one with the pick they obtained in the trade with New Orleans. Suffice to say, Nerlens Noel (sixth) and Michael Carter-Williams (11th) did not pan out the way the organization had hoped. They also passed on some guy from Greece who went 15th overall.
In Maxey, the Sixers hope to have a similar draft hit — with a much happier ending. When Maxey was selected, Holiday was a player the young guard said he wanted to emulate. He pointed to Holiday’s ability as a two-way player.
When the opposing coach was asked about Holiday last Thursday, he compared him to a Hall of Famer and arguably the best two-way guard in Sixers franchise history.
“Jrue reminds me a lot of Maurice Cheeks in a lot of ways,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said. “They both do this thing that very few guards do. They make shots in the middle of a game that you don’t even notice. They both have this ability to stop runs.
“Maurice Cheeks, he’d have eight points in a game, and you’d think those were the eight most important points in the game. A team is making a 6-0 run, and Cheeks would just come down (and make a) pull-up jump shot, and then go back to his own business of moving the ball. And Jrue kind of senses the game very similar, in the same way.
“And then both of them defensively. Jrue, defensively, I don’t think he gets enough recognition. I don’t know another guard that is a better defensive player than him. I would not want to see him every night.”
Holiday is not the type to pump himself up or demand recognition. Even Rivers’ compliment didn’t seem to move him much. Holiday just puts his head down and does his job.
“I’ve been compared to so many people,” Holiday said, “I think at this point I really just try to be myself.”
As Tucker will tell you, Holiday being himself has worked out just fine.
“Just his know-how,” Tucker said when asked what stands out most about Holiday. “It’s like a natural know-how. Just has a knack for the game. He’s smart, knows how to play. He’s tough as nails, but doesn’t say anything. He’s not a rah-rah tough guy, but he’s one of the toughest dudes I know. He’s definitely one of the best players I ever played with.”
Key cog of an Eastern Conference powerhouse. Revered by his teammates — past and present — and head coach. Compared to Hall of Famers by opposing coaches. A veteran that young players strive to be like.
And yet, just that one All-Star appearance.
Show ya luv for Jrue Holiday, one of the most underrated dudes in the NBA.
