Blazers' Jrue Holiday gives love to former Sixers star Andre Iguodala
Holiday then morphed into a defensive menace in New Orleans and helping the Pelicans win a playoff series in 2018 before being sent to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020 offseason. He won a title with the Bucks in 2021 and then with the Boston Celtics in 2024 before then being sent to the Blazers.
Now in more of a mentorship role at this stage of his career, Holiday was asked about any veteran player helping mentor him at the beginning of his time in the league. He immediately gave a shoutout to former Sixers star Andre Iguodala as well as a couple of other former Sixers teammates:
One was Andre Iguodala. He was a jerk. My rookie year, he was on me. He was on me about a lot, and I didn't really understand why until later. He obviously saw something in me that I guess I hadn't seen yet, and just constantly being on me and harping on me about being consistent and the things that I have to do were super important. I had Elton Brand, who, I think everybody knows Elton Brand's game, and his career has been amazing, and what he's doing in Philly. Also had Aaron McKie as a coach, so he was kind of like my player coach, who really instilled in me a lot of hard work, and because we were the same position, he coached me up a lot on how to be solid as not just as a player, but as a human, and kind of how that translates on and off the court.
Holiday will look to help the Blazers make a push up in the standings after a few tough seasons in the midst of a rebuild. Portland showed some signs late in the 2024-25 season of turning it around and Holiday will look to help give another nudge to a team that hasn't reached the playoffs since 2021.
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