In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green interviews NBA guard Jrue Holiday about his evolving role with the Boston Celtics. Green praises Holiday’s elite offensive toolkit—finishing at the rim, mid‑range, three‑point shooting, and ability to score at any level—while noting Holiday has taken a secondary scoring role to accommodate teammates like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The conversation shifts to Holiday’s defensive evolution: from guarding point guards and shooting guards to roaming, hounding the best ball‑handler regardless of size, and matching up on bigs when needed. Holiday describes how this broader defensive responsibility has changed his perspective on the game and his communication with teammates. Green then probes Holiday’s reputation among peers, highlighting that despite never finishing higher than seventh in Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) voting, Holiday commands immense respect from the players he guards, comparable to the universal acknowledgment of Steph Curry’s shooting. Holiday expresses that peer respect matters more to him than awards, though he welcomes the idea of a guard winning DPOY. The segment concludes with a brief DraftKings Sportsbook promotion. The interview blends conversational, appreciative tones with insights into NBA defensive strategy, player reputation, and the mindset of elite defenders.
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What's up everybody? Welcome to the Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Make sure you hit that subscribe button. Make sure you like the post that you love, but you can get everything the Draymond Green Show right on our YouTube channel. So make sure you subscribe, check that out. Thank you. You coming to the Celtics, your role has changed quite a bit offensively, but in that change offensively, me having the opportunity to play with you, watching you play, you don't get off on offense. Like you're more than capable of scoring the ball at any level, which I think most people don't understand. You can take guys to the post. You are a great finisher around the rim. You have a floater, you have a mid-range, you have a 3-point shot. There's guys that average far more points than you in the NBA that can't score at every level like that. And so just to be able to score like that already puts you in an elite category. However, you've taken on a lesser role knowing that JT's gonna get a lot of shots, JB's gonna get a lot of shots, and everything else from there is free-flowing. It's you, it's D. White some nights, it's Al some nights, it's Payton some— like, it's so free-flowing outside of those two getting the shots that they're gonna get every night, and your role has changed. Great, granted, I understand that. Maybe people don't understand that, but I don't really wanna talk about that. What I wanna talk about is the role that I see you playing now on the defensive end. Because you've gone from a guy who, like we were speaking about earlier, where you're gonna be on Steph Curry, you're gonna be on Kyrie Irving, you're gonna be on the best ball handler at all times, to now you were on me when we played y'all to start the game. And I see you playing more of a, like I used to love to do that when our lineups allowed for me to just match up with a, Guy who's maybe a lesser shooter. I can mess up y'all offense in a totally different way than just having to go guard that guy. And I see y'all doing more of that now with you. How has that been for you adjusting to that role as opposed to being the guard and the dominant ball handler all the time?
It's been a different experience for sure. Because like you said, and especially when we first came into the league, it was like, you guarded your matchup.
Absolutely.
If I was the point guard, I guarded the point guard. If I was the 2, I guarded the 2. And honestly, my first few years or whatever, like, I don't ever think I guarded a 3, like a small forward or whatever. It was either point guard or shooting guard. Now, and then it became like, hound the ball. Best player, don't matter if they 6'8", don't matter if they 5'10". Hounding. And those two are kind of the same though. Like, I still had to hound because, you know, when we came in, the point guard is just the one who brings it down, sets people up, and does all that. But they didn't— pretty much the main ball handler getting it to the guy in the spot where they— where the guy—
Yes, absolutely.
Now it's like, I think our first time we played Philly, I was guarding Joel. Like, he's 7'2". I'm 6'4" and I, some days 6'5" depending on if I got my hair up or not. You know what I'm saying? And I think kind of like being a roamer or disrupting, kind of like what you said, has been so fun to me.
Yeah.
It's been so fun 'cause I see the game in a different way now. I see the reason why I'm on this person. I start to catch it now. Me and Joe talk about that quite a bit. Like I start to catch what Joe is thinking defensively before he tells me. I'd be like, hey, you wanna do this? He'd be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I wanna do. I'm like, see, I'm starting to catch on. Before, I was just so locked into pounding the ball, disrupting it, sending them over the screen, sending them down to Brook or Yanni. Before that, send them to AD when I was with the Pelicans. So it was like, that was, it was a consistent type of thing that I was doing. And now, bro, one day I might be on a non-shooter, the next day I might be on a shooter, I might be on the big for, if they wanna come up and set a screen, but we don't want the big in it. So because I'm on him, now he's in the corner and now they're going with like somebody else who's maybe less of a shooter. You know what I'm saying? Like so many things playing to the defense now. And I didn't see the game that way. I was always the person who had to hear people tell me what to do.
Which is a scary feeling. You out there on that island. Everything's happening behind you.
Yeah.
But you can't turn and look and you just have to do, like you're at the mercy of whether the big wants to talk or not.
For sure, 100%. And then, yeah, so I learned early to let my bigs get the rebounds and feed them the ball and stuff, 'cause then they talk. But now I'm the one screaming. I'm like you, I'm trying to be loud, I'm trying to be crazy. So like my teammates ain't getting smacked by screams or they know what's going on in situations. And I think that that was something a little different for me 'cause I'd always been like a quiet player because I didn't really have to say much. I was always on the ball, you know what I'm saying? So it's been a cool experience. Like, I guess I'm like Draymond Green.
No, way better, way better. And I include myself in this. Anytime someone talks about a defender being overrated, in the NBA. I cannot recall ever seeing one person say another name outside of you. Yet you've never finished higher than 7th place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. What do you make of that? 'Cause that to me, I know the type of defender you are, number one, and playing against you and watching you play, I know the type of respect that people have for you as a defender, especially those guys that you are guarding. But what do you make of that thing?
Uh, I think that for the most part, the people, the players in the NBA and a lot of the coaches in the NBA see how good of a defender I am, and that's all I need. Like, I could see the respect when somebody— when my guy is going up to set a screen and they're like, no, go to the next one. You know what I'm saying?
Best feeling in the world.
Bro, what? I'm like, all right, respect. To me, like, that's what I need. I don't really care for the accolades. I don't care for the whatever. Would it be cool to get DPOY? Yeah. But I think me personally, it was, for one, like, I was super happy when Marcus got it 'cause it'd been so long since a guard had gotten it. Or, and no offense to the bigs out there that block shots, and I know that they affect the game, But like, not all the time, they not guarding the best players night in, night out. They not affecting the game in that way where they gotta fight over screens or chase him around or hound him full court. Like, not saying that it's easy, 'cause I can't block shots. I'm not averaging 5 blocks a game. But you would know, like, you have to guard, you have to guard the best players. At the end of the day, you had to, you, they were either trying to get away from you, or you would go and seek them out because you knew, like, I'm that guy, I'm Tinto. So when Marcus got it, I was like so excited because I'm like, all right, well, we trending in a direction now where I feel like it could possibly go to guards and, and do all that. But me not getting it, man, I, I could, I could care less. I wouldn't say care less, I wouldn't say care less, but like I don't lose sleep over it.
You got more, you have more respect from your peers as a defender as, I wouldn't say more, you have as much respect from your peers as a defender as Steph has as a shooter or as like from, I mean the guys you've guarded. Like if you talk to the guys that you've guarded, like they don't think for a second like, oh, Jrue Holiday. Like, you ask Drew Holiday, like no question. And that's what I like. It's just the same way. Like obviously Steph is the greatest shooter we've ever seen. If you ask who's the best shooter, the first, Steph Curry. Like no, not a second thought. Like Steph Curry.
Yeah.
And guys that you've guarded that know the game, that know what they're facing when they're up against you, it's the same. It's Drew Holiday. No question. And I think, and as you just said, like, that's the biggest compliment one can ever get.
Ever. That's crazy to me that like, it's not even a question. It's not even a thought. Like, when I hear people, or when I hear that, like every time I hear it, bro, I'm like, yeah, that's insane to me. But that's a good feeling. That's, I think, a part of the reason why like, I know, I mean, going to sleep at night, bro, I'm good.
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