Jrue Holiday should be an NBA All-Star lock this season

While the Milwaukee Bucks continue their campaign to defend the NBA title, star guard Jrue Holiday has been one of the main bright spots over the course of this 2021-22 NBA season.

In his second year with the Bucks, Holiday has been extremely sharp on both sides of the ball, while exploiting self-confidence and a flashy mode of swagger after winning a glorious NBA Championship and sn Olympic Gold Medal last summer.

The 31-year-old stud has only kept the momentum going this season by playing some of the best ball of his career in terms of efficiency and consistency.

With the outstanding season that Jrue Holiday is having with the Milwaukee Bucks, the two-way stud deserves to be a lock for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.

Jrue Holiday has been named an NBA All-Star just once (2012-13 with Philadelphia) over his 13-year career in the NBA, which seems mind-boggling considering how elite he’s been for such a long period. But the two-way guard should finally earn his second All-Star appearance this season with the way he’s been dominating for the Bucks on a consistent basis.

Holiday has clearly been undervalued for the majority of his time in the league, and his stellar abilities on both ends of the court, especially defensively, have been underappreciated for the most part.

However, that perception of him should no longer exist, and it’s time to stop ignoring what this born competitor does for his team on a night-to-night basis.

It’s time we acknowledge Jrue Holiday as one of the premier guards in the association. He proved it on basketball’s most prolific stage in the NBA Finals and has continued to maintain his on-court brilliance, but some people still seem to be sleeping on him.

Holiday is currently averaging 18.4 points, 6.7 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and has tied his career-high with 1.6 steals across 33.2 minutes per game. In addition, he’s shooting 49.9 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent from three-point territory.

Per 100 possessions, Jrue’s averaging 26.8 points, 9.8 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. He’s having another efficient season and should be on track to make a fourth All-Defensive team.

Efficiency on the defensive end has always been Holiday’s strong suit, as he’ll maximize his defensive contributions any given night, but his efficient offensive production has really been what’s made him grow each year.

He’s thrived utilizing his awareness, instincts, and decision-making to break down defenses and execute whether penetrating, scoring, or passing in the half-court or in transition.

Jrue does an excellent job of controlling the pace and staying organized, mindful, and decisive as the point guard for the Milwaukee Bucks.

In fact, he’s taken on even more responsibilities when the Bucks have been decimated by injuries or health and safety protocols, which they’ve been dealing with throughout the whole season.

When bona fide superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols, Holiday had a three-game stretch where he averaged 30.0 points and 9.7 assists per game while shooting 56.3 percent from the field.

Holiday’s best game of the season thus far included a career-high 40 points, five assists, five rebounds, and two steals on 50.0 percent shooting against his former team, the New Orleans Pelicans. Milwaukee was without Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton that night, so it was evidently the Jrue Holiday show.

Holiday has certainly been having an All-Star caliber season, and while arguments can be made for some of the other guards in the Eastern Conference, Jrue deserves to claim one of the six maximum NBA All-Star spots for guards.

Some of the All-Star guard locks in the East are expected to be Trae Young, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and James Harden, leaving two wild card spots left. Those spots will likely come down to Jrue Holiday, Fred VanVleet, LaMelo Ball, Darius Garland, Bradley Beal, and Jaylen Brown.

All are having terrific individual seasons, but when you factor in team success, consistency, and efficiency on both ends of the court, Holiday is the best candidate out of that group to earn an All-Star selection.

Besides, we need to appreciate defense more across the league, and Jrue is among the best of the best defensively among guards, if not the best.

It’s been an eye-opening, productive season for two-way star Jrue Holiday thus far, and as a result, the Milwaukee Bucks point guard deserves to be a lock to earn his second career NBA All-Star appearance on February 20th.