Jrue Holiday shares who are the top five defenders in the NBA and leaves out a big name

Jrue was completely honest when sharing his picks.

Matthew Dugandzic | Dec 19, 2022

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Milwaukee Bucks

When talking about the best defenders in the NBA, especially on the perimeter, you have to mention Jrue Holiday.

Jrue has been a staple of two-way guards that make the opposing best scorer often work hard for his buckets. Almost every NBA player will attest to that and give Holiday his props or include him in various Top 5 lists when talking about the league's most tenacious defenders.

But what does the man himself think? The Milwaukee Bucks point guard recently shared his Top 5 defenders in today's game and explained his picks.

Top 5

Jrue recently talked with his teammate Serge Ibaka on his cooking show 'How Hungry are you?' and touched on the topic of defense. Ibaka wanted to know who Holiday has on his Top 5 defenders list, and the point guard kept it honest.

"Maybe I'm biased because he's my teammate, but imma say Brook (Lopez)...Me... I give Marcus Smart one...I say Rudy Gobert....Draymond (Green)...I didn't want to put in too many of my teammates," Holiday explained.

Aside from picking himself and his center, Brook Lopez, Holiday picked a couple of obvious choices—from last year's DPOY Marcus Smart, who Jrue praised but noted he doesn't like his flopping, to the 3x DPOY Rudy Gobert, to the 2016-17 DPOY Draymond Green.

No Giannis

Serge being the instigator he is always on his show, was wondering why Holiday didn't include Giannis Antetokounmpo on the list. Jrue defended himself, saying he didn't want to put too many of his teammates on his top 5, and with Ibaka begging him to keep Giannis out, Jrue decided for Draymond over the Greek Freak.

The Greek Freak probably won't mind this; he and Jrue both know that Antetokounmpo is one the top defenders in the NBA. That's why Holiday chose to give props to other guys instead. After all, with all the Top 5 lists Antetokounmpo makes, getting snubbed from this one won't keep him up at night.

Published Dec 19, 2022

MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.