Right after being traded, Jrue Holiday piqued the interest of many championship-contending teams. It just goes to show that he is one of the most sought-after players today. The defensive specialist is a star and even looked like he was the second-best player for the Milwaukee Bucks last season. With his current price and popularity, is Jrue Holiday a future Hall-of-Famer?
Jrue Holiday’s Hall of Fame probability isn’t what you might have expected
Jrue Holiday is a pretty good player and probably a second-tier point guard in today’s game. But, his chances to be presented in the Hall of Fame may not be what everybody would have expected. According to basketball-reference.com, Holiday’s chances of being named to the Naismith Hall of Fame are very slim. Right now, at only 0.87%, players like DeMarcus Cousins (1.51%) and Kemba Walker (15.1%) are more likely to become Hall-of-Famers than Holiday. Take note that Cousins and Walker are already out of the NBA.
Although Holiday is already 33 years old, we can’t take away he still has time to increase those chances. We also would like to throw in the fact that Jrue peaked late in his career since most of his achievements came when he was about 30 years old. Bill Walton, the 1978 MVP, only had a 2.4% chance of making the HoF, but he was inducted in the 1993 class. Fortunately, there’s still hope for Holiday to be selected in that group.
Jrue Holiday NBA accolades
The 2009 17th overall pick came into the league as a young prospect from UCLA. He may not be the best player in his class which featured Blake Griffin, James Harden, Steph Curry, DeMar DeRozan, and the eventual Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans, but Holiday was a solid guy. He started slow but steady.
Eventually, Jrue Holiday would join Anthony Davis in New Orleans and would solidify himself as a very reliable point guard. In 2019, Jrue played his best year by averaging 21.2 points, 7.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals as well as getting in the All-Defensive Team for the second time. In 14 seasons, he averaged 16.4 points, 6.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. Below are just some of Jrue Holiday‘s accolades and achievements in the NBA.
- 1-time NBA champion (2021)
- 2-time All-Star (2013, 2023)
- 3x NBA All-Defensive First Team (2018, 2021, 2023)
- 2x NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2019, 2022)
- NBA Sportsmanship Award (2021)
- 3-time NBA Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award (2022, 2022, 2023)
Jrue Holiday will be remembered as one of the most elite guard defenders in NBA history
Indeed, Jrue Holiday isn’t in Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, or even Russell Westbrook’s level. But, what separates him from these veteran PGs is that he is an elite perimeter defender. He isn’t your average Joe who locks down the opposing team’s best player. Known for being a smashmouth clamping machine, Holiday prides himself in picking pockets or deflecting passing lanes. His total of 1,346 balls stolen is a good representation of that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh0kZpwV1jU
One could argue that Holiday was robbed of the Defensive Player of the Year award multiple times because some players in the league believed he was the best defender there is. At 6 feet and 5 inches, Jrue is a very formidable point guard. We have seen guards like Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, and most recently, Marcus Smart, win the DPOY award. But, should Holiday have been in that group? We think so. He is now 33 years old, but the former Milwaukee Buck can still put up 20 points and 7 assists on any given night.
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