Is Jrue Holiday now a lock for The Basketball Hall of Fame?

Jrue Holiday has been a really good NBA player for a long time, but his crowning accomplishments have come fast and furiously in recent seasons. A flurry of achievements in this stretch have left NBA fans wondering whether Holiday has a legitimate chance to be in The Basketball Hall of Fame once his career is over. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Holiday’s Hall of Fame case may have been jump started by the first championship he won with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2020-2021 season. He had a couple of notable offensive games in the NBA Finals, scoring 27 points in Game 5. However, his defense was off the charts, recording at least three steals in each of the last three games of the series.

Doc Rivers, who became the Bucks’ head coach in December 2023, spoke about Holiday glowingly despite never having coached him in Milwaukee. Remarkably, Rivers waxed poetic about how the team missed Holiday, admitting to The Bill Simmons Podcast “He was their leader. He led by example and by what he did; you just don’t replace that.”

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Almost immediately after winning a title with the Bucks in July 2021, Holiday had to board a plane to Japan in order to represent USA Basketball in the Olympics. The Olympics were postponed until the summer of 2021 because of the Covid pandemic. Despite the short turnaround, Holiday was an integral part of the gold medal winning USA squad.

According to USA Basketball’s website, Holiday started in five of the United States’ six games in the Olympics, and played over 25 minutes per game. Yahoo Sports wrote about the vital role he played on both ends of the floor during the tournament.

Of course, Jrue Holiday’s excellence on upper echelon NBA teams continued during the 2023-2024 campaign, as he was a backcourt anchor for the Boston Celtics’ title squad. The Celtics swooped in to acquire him after the Bucks sent him to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Damian Lillard trade, as Boston sent Robert Williams and Malcolm Brodgon west to get Holiday.

The New York Times called Holiday an NBA Finals hero for his performance with Boston against the Dallas Mavericks. In addition to a tremendous shooting performance in Game 2 where he went 11-14, Holiday rendered Kyrie Irving a non-factor for the majority of the series.

Before Boston went on their NBA title run, they signed Holiday to a four-year, $135 million contract extension in early April. Some believed that it was an interesting decision to commit to a soon-to-be 34-year-old, but Holiday’s value on offense and defense justified the investment.

The Boston Celtics figure to be in the championship mix for years to come, as stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are entering the prime of their careers. Holiday’s skill set, especially on defense, should make him an effective weapon for at least the next couple of seasons. It’s not unfathomable to think that he’ll end up with one or two more rings.

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As if the prospect of more NBA titles wasn’t enough, Holiday also stands to win another gold medal with the 2024 USA Olympic basketball team. It’ll be interesting to see what type of role he has, but Yahoo Sports reported that the team courted his services for many months. This might indicate that he will have a starting role once again.

If the next few years go as promisingly for Holiday as they can, it’s reasonable to think that the guard may end up as a four-time NBA champion (for example), and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. There aren’t many players in basketball history who can claim that level of accomplishment. It might be enough to cement his Hall of Fame candidacy.

In addition to the team accolades Holiday has and might continue to rack up, he’s also received a plethora of recognition by the league for being one of the best defenders in the NBA. He’s been a member of the All-Defensive team six times in his career, including in each of the last four seasons. Holiday truly appears to be getting better with age in that regard.

One potential area that naysayers of Holiday’s Hall of Fame candidacy might point to is his lack of All-Star nods. He’s only been named twice in his career—in 2022-2023 with the Celtics, and back in 2012-2013 with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Interestingly enough, Basketball Reference doesn’t think Holiday is remotely close to being a Hall of Fame player. Their Hall of Fame probability algorithm gives the guard just over a 1% chance of making it. Basketball Reference’s similarity scores rank Holiday’s career with the likes of players like Nick Van Exel, Latrell Sprewell, J.J. Redick and Derek Fisher.

With that said, and without offense to Van Exel, Sprewell and Redick, none of those players had the same type of high-level impact on title teams and in international basketball that Holiday has. His premier performances on the biggest stages will be his greatest asset in a push for Hall of Fame candidacy.

Is Jrue Holiday a lock to make The Basketball Hall of Fame? Is he on the cusp, but needs to do more? Is it crazy to discuss Holiday as a Hall of Famer in the first place? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

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