COLORADO SPRINGS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Point guard Jrue Holiday was highly coveted by the Boston Celtics, who traded for the All-Star in late September. As it turns out, he’s still being pursued — by Team USA.
Officials with USA Basketball are attempting to convince Holiday to return for a second straight Olympics for the 2024 Paris Games, it was reported by ESPN this Sunday.. Holiday, 33, helped lead the Americans to a gold medal in 2021, a much more desirous outcome than Team USA’s recent fourth-place finish at the FIBA World Cup.
Overall, the Americans have won four straight golds at the Olympics, but that has been largely achieved via stronger defensive performance, an approach U.S. coach Steve Kerr and men’s managing director Grant Hill continue to favor.
Holiday is one of the better on-ball defenders in the NBA.
Multiple NBA superstars are expected to participate in 2024, per ESPN, including such players as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid.
A five-time All-Defensive selection in the NBA, Holiday was traded to Boston by the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for center Robert Williams, guard Malcolm Brogdon and multiple draft picks.
Portland acquired Holiday as part of the three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Holiday helped lead the Bucks to their second-ever NBA championship in 2021 following his acquisition from the New Orleans Pelicans. Over 14 seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans and Milwaukee, he has averaged 16.4 points and 6.5 assists.
He averaged 19.3 points, 7.4 assists and a career-best 5.1 rebounds in 67 games (65 starts) last season with the Bucks.
–Field Level Media