UCLA Basketball: Fresh Off Another Title, Jrue Holiday Ranked Among NBA's Elite Point Guards

The two-time league champ remains a top talent.

Jun 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Green (8) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) in game five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

One-and-done UCLA Bruins point guard-turned-two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday just scored his second NBA title as a key starting piece across the last four seasons.

The 6-foot-4 vet proved to be a stellar two-way force on the perimeter, as a supplemental playmaker and long range shot taker off the catch on offense and a lockdown Kyrie Irving stopper on the other side of the court.

A 2009 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team honoree while with the Blue and Gold, Holiday is making his mark and cementing his legend at the next level. In addition to the two titles and two All-Star appearances (10 years apart, on the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013 and Milwaukee Bucks in 2023), Holiday was named to his third All-Defensive Second Team and sixth All-Defensive Team overall this season. Holiday is also an absolutely beloved teammate. He's been thrice named the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year and won the NBA Sportsmanship Award in 2021.

The Celtics know what they have in the Campbell Hall High School alum, and accordingly inked the 34-year-old to a four-year, $134.4 million contract extension to stay in Boston through the 2027-28 season (he has a player option on that last year).

Even heading into Year 16, Holiday remains an impressive talent on a loaded Boston club. Across 69 healthy regular season contests, he averaged 12.5 points on .480/.429/.833 shooting splits, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks a night.

In a new ranking of the league's best point guards from Frank Urbina of HoopsHype, Holiday is listed as the No. 13-best player at his position, one slot behind one-way Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young at No. 12 and just ahead of much-maligned Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell at No. 13.

"Holiday remains an elite guard defender, forming a ridiculously stingy duo alongside his backcourt mate [Derrick] White, one potent enough to make opponents look like light work all playoffs long this year for the Celtics. An excellent pickup for Brad Stevens, Holiday helped turn Boston into a juggernaut in 2023-24," Urbina writes.

"What was particularly impressive by Holiday this year besides his otherworldly defense is the fact that, knowing he’d have to take more of a backseat on offense playing alongside the two Jays [All-Star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown], White and the player coming up in two spots, he – rather than sulk and force his own shot attempts – instead accepted his role and put up the best three-point percentage of his career playing off the ball, hitting 42.9 percent of his regular-season threes and 40.2 percent in the playoffs," Urbina notes.

More UCLA: Trade Market for Ex-Bruin All-Star Zach LaVine Surprisingly Weak