UCLA Basketball: Jrue Holiday To Be Demoted For Team USA in Gold Medal Game

The former Bruins standout is being sidelined in favor of a more decorated colleague.

Jul 31, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; United States guard Jrue Holiday (12) dribbles against South Sudan shooting guard Peter Jok (14) in the fourth quarter during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Former one-and-done Pac-10 All-Freshman Team UCLA Bruins guard Jrue Holiday, fresh off netting his second NBA title as an All-Defensive Second Team starter for the Boston Celtics in June, is one win away from earning his second Olympic gold medal in Paris this weekend. He'll be the first player since Hall of Fame Chicago Bulls small forward Scottie Pippen in 1996 to claim two straight Olympic gold medals on the heels of NBA titles. Holiday won his first gold, at the Tokyo games in 2021, after claiming a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Apparently, however, in said gold medal game against Team France on Saturday, the 6-foot-4 vet is slated to lose his starting spot on this year's Team USA squad.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports that Phoenix Suns All-NBA combo forward Kevin Durant will start for the Americans in the deciding game, while Holiday will come off the bench.

Moving Holiday to a reserve role instead of Durant's Suns All-Star teammate Devin Booker is a questionable decision from head coach Steve Kerr. Golden State Warriors All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry, fresh off scoring 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting (9-of-14 from beyond the arc) in a semifinal game win against Team Serbia on Thursday occupies too much of a venerated spot in the club's hierarchy to be demoted — and seems to have rediscovered his killer shooting stroke just in the nick of time, after an uneven first four games.

But losing the defense of Holiday seems more dangerous than the erratic (though, at times, clutch) offense of Booker in Team USA's first five. Holiday and Celtics teammate Derrick White are the two best wing defenders the U.S. has. Ditching them both could leave the Americans vulnerable early.

Holiday has had a solid start to the Paris Olympics. Across 18.9 minutes a game, Holiday is averaging 8.0 points on 59.1 percent shooting from the field (50 percent shooting from 3-point land), 3.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, and 0.5 steals a night.

After being traded to the Celtics from the Bucks in the summer of 2023, Holiday inked a four-year, $134.4 million contract extension with the club. Holiday has a $37.2 million player option on the final year of his deal, 2027-28. In addition to his two titles, the 34-year-old has made two All-Star teams and six All-Defensive teams. He is slowly piecing together a Hall of Fame resume, and whether or not he starts in this last game ultimately won't change that.

More UCLA: Rico Flores Jr. Was 'Nervous' Committing to Bruins After Chip Kelly Departure