Philadelphia hasn’t had a year to remember. They are struggling to score, struggling to stay afloat, and Andrew Bynum hasn’t even suited up for the team yet. The 76ers are sitting at 22-30, 3.5 games out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. They were supposed to be better this year than the middling lower-tier contender that frequented the City of Brotherly Love the last few seasons. But don’t tell any of that to Jrue Holiday.
Holiday is enjoying a breakout season in Philly, arriving as an All-Star and sporting averages of 19 points and 8.8 assists a game. Over All-Star Weekend in Houston, I had the chance to catch up to Holiday to talk about his ascent, how he’s improved, and why he’s been overlooked for so long.
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Dime: How does it feel at your first All-Star Game? Do you feel like you’ve arrived?
Jrue Holiday: I’m kind of on a cloud, you know what I mean? Again, all the things that the previous All-Stars went through they are kind of like, “Okay, this is getting old.” For me, this is just something new. It’s awesome and exciting.
Dime: Do you think you’ve been under the radar for a while?
JH: Yeah. I think I have. Again, I just got a good chance this year to show off my talents, and try to improve my game, keep on doing that.
Dime: Because even in high school, you were in the class with Jennings…
JH: Brandon Jennings, yeah. Brandon. Tyreke. DeMar DeRozan. All those guys. Again, they’re all really good players. Any given day they could’ve been an All-Star, even this year Brandon could’ve been one. It was fun growing up against them. Honestly, I was one of the ones who made it, to be an All-Star first.
Dime: And many of you guys are all from the same area.
JH: Same area. Playing against Brandon and DeMar since like sixth grade, it’s pretty cool.
Dime: What’s that like looking back now that you’re all here in the NBA? Is it weird?
JH: Nah. I mean it’s cool to see. I mean it is kind of weird because obviously as a little kid, y’all played together but now you’re kinda at the highest level playing with or against each other. It’s a lot crazier to see now that you’re at this age and you’re playing against guys that you saw at that age like Dwyane Wade or Chris Paul or KG who’s in like his 15th All-Star Game.
Dime: What’s that dynamic like with the age difference being so large?
JH: I think you try to play it cool. You try to play it cool like you don’t have a million questions to ask them about what it’s gonna be like. Obviously I didn’t. You try to play it like I’ve been here before,” like this is nothing.
Hit page 2 to find out which coach has helped turn Holiday into an All-Star…
Dime: With the Sixers, did your breakout come because you really improved during the summer or was it because you traded Iggy and Bynum is out?
JH: I think it was a little bit of both. I think every year I did get better, especially in the offseason. I definitely worked on my game. But getting that chance to showcase it, and even though last year we had ‘Dre, we had Lou Williams, we had guys who took on a lot of responsibility and handed that responsibility over to me. It gave me a chance to flourish.
Dime: Do you think you were held back at all?
JH: I don’t think I was held back. I think what happened was supposed to happen in its right time.
Dime: With your game, you’re one of the smoother players in the league off the dribble. Have you always been like that?
JH: I guess that just always happened. I don’t think I’m too flashy. I guess it’s like in life – I just try to go with the flow, whatever happens happens. I play it that way.
Dime: I wanted to ask you about your pull-up. I don’t know if you pride yourself on that shot, but it seems like that’s one of your go-to moves, probably one of the more effective pull-up Js in the league.
JH: Yeah, I don’t think many people use the midrange that much anymore. Definitely with a coach like Aaron McKie, who at least to me in my eyes, especially going up against him, has mastered the midrange. It is a big thing, and that was a big thing that I put into my game, something that from my rookie year to now I definitely had to work on.
Dime: You didn’t have that when you were younger?
JH: I had it but I don’t think it was as consistent. I think when you’re younger, you kind of think, alright, three-point or to the basket. Everything midrange is kind of a gray area. But now I feel like that is one of my main shots.
Dime: What is McKie teaching you?
JH: It’s ballhandling. It’s reading the defense in screen-n-roll. It’s post game because he’s a bigger guard, the way he uses his body. Just teaching me the ins and outs of being a complete point guard.
Dime: Obviously Philly is a lot different than where you grew up. I talk to Dion Waiters a lot, who’s from Philly, and he’s always talking about the fans, how crazy they are and how the environment there is different than any other place in the country.
JH: Philly, if you’re winning, they got your back. They’ll fight for you, die for you. They’re definitely a blue-collar city. They just want you to work hard and play hard, and obviously they want you to win too. But if you work hard and play hard and just leave it out there every single night, they’ll love you.
Hit page 3 to see some more adidas photos from All-Star Weekend…
Where does Holiday rank among the best point guards in the league?
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