Jrue Holiday

Positioned somewhere along every roster with aspirations of hoisting an NBA title, is a player capable of changing the spectrum of an entire game, even without requiring a shot attempt to do so. Caught unprepared, out of position, and ultimately overwhelmed, the Cleveland Cavaliers forcefully found out who that player was for the Boston Celtics. Controlled in his aggression during a frenetically-paced offensive possession, Holiday works a dribble handoff with his teammate, removing himself from his path with a cut to the rim. Quickly diagnosing the shot’s off-target bounce, the 6-foot-4 guard takes to the land of the giants, ripping a rebound out of 6-foot-11 Evan Mobley’s grasp before kicking the ball back out to the perimeter, setting up a teammate for a 3-point shot. Holiday’s rebound served as an accurate, appropriate depiction of the Celtics’ Game Three victory on May 11, 2024, with the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed muscling their way to a 2-1 series advantage. Needing only 10 shot attempts to compile one of his most impactful games in the green-and-white threads, Holiday finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one block, and three 3-pointers.

Championship Year