31-year-old Jrue Holiday may be the greatest defender of his time. At least, that’s what Andre Iguodala thinks.
In a chat with the media, the Warriors veteran showered Holiday in praise, calling him one of the best defenders he’s ever seen and pointing to the 2021 NBA Finals as the most recent piece of evidence.
(via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm)
“He’s the best defender in the league, one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen, and the best defender of his time,” said the Warriors veteran.
“You saw what he did in the NBA Finals last year,” Iguodala said. “He guarded Chris Paul. He guarded Devin Booker. They’d just go the complete opposite way of him and that’s a generational talent. It’s kind of like a Kyrie (Irving) or a Steph (Curry) or Kevin Durant on offense, he’s that guy on defense.”
It’s obviously a hot take from Iguodala, but the belief isn’t something new. Last year, he claimed Holiday deserves at least three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
You can write this down. Jrue Holiday should have three Defensive Player of the Year (awards), and he should be first-team All-Defensive for the last nine years.
I don’t care. You can ask — who’s the best scorer in the league? Who’s the most gifted scorer in basketball history?
Jrue Holiday is 6-foot-3 and Kevin Durant is 6-10. He’s not 6-10 — he’s a 7-footer. And Kevin Durant is like, ‘Yo, Jrue Holiday is different.’ You see what happened (with Team USA) in the Olympics when Jrue Holiday got there? But I’m crazy, right?
Other guys, like Damian Lillard, have also raved about Holiday’s defense in the past.
Despite the lack of attention he gets from the fans and media, the guy must be doing something right to get such high praise from his peers.
To get called the best defender of modern times by a 3x Champion really speaks volumes to just how intense his impact is on the floor.
