Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has long been regarded as one of the most underrated players in the league. He's not going to blow the boxscore out of proportions with mind-numbing numbers, but the one-time All-Star puts up consistent effort on both ends.
In speaking with Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, Holiday didn't hold back his feelings on his true place among the NBA's elite defenders.
“Man, I feel like I'm the Defensive Player of the Year every year. I'm not joking about that. And I know this is my opinion, and other people have different opinions and they'll probably think I'm crazy. But I think what I bring defensively on the court, a lot of people don't really do, to be completely honest.
Jrue Holiday hasn't won a Defensive Player of the Year award. He was a member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2018 and Second Team in 2019, though.
The media may say otherwise but Holiday is well respected by his Bucks teammates and opponents alike for what he brings to the court. His defense is one of the main reasons why the Bucks have managed to stay among the top teams in the league despite Giannis Antetokounmpo missing a handful of games.
The Bucks have a vaunted lockdown trio with Holiday, Khris Middleton, and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Perhaps he is being overshadowed by his more popular Bucks teammates? That might be the case.
It's difficult to take away what Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, and Kawhi Leonard have done to earn the award. At the least, Jrue Holiday should be in the conversation year after year.
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