"This era Andre Iguodala"- Former Warriors guard gives Jrue Holiday his flowers with 2015 Finals MVP comparison
Nick Young lavished praise on Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday for his performance against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. Holiday had an outstanding outing at TD Garden against the Mavericks and made a significant impact on both ends of the floor.
Apart from scoring points and facilitating for his teammates, Holiday defended Kyrie Irving at an elite level. He had Kyrie Irving in handcuffs for the majority of the game. Irving only managed to score 12 points and went 6-of-19 from the floor.
After Holiday's well-rounded game against the Mavericks, former Golden State Warriors player Nick Young compared the Boston Celtics star with 2015 Finals MVP award winner Andre Iguodala:
"Jrue is this era Andre Iguodala," Young wrote on X.
In Game 1 of the finals, Jrue Holiday had eight rebounds, five assists and one steal along with 12 points. The 33-year-old shot 4 of 9 from the field and 2 of 5 from the 3-point range as Boston won 107-89.
As the finals progress, Jrue is expected to play a massive role for the Boston Celtics, especially when it comes to guarding Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Holiday's ability to defend at an elite level and provide the impetus in scoring makes him one of the X-factors in this year's finals.
Jrue Holiday vs Andre Iguodala in NBA Finals
Both Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala are NBA champions. Holiday won his lone title in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks, while Iguodala won four championships with the Golden State Warriors (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022) before announcing his retirement in 2023.
Holiday's numbers are better than Iguodala's in NBA Finals. Having said that, the one-time champion has played fewer games than the four-time champion.
In seven NBA Finals games, Holiday averages 16.0 points, 8.7 assists and 6.4 rebounds. In 36 NBA Finals games, Iguodala averaged 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
Iguodala earned the Finals MVP award in 2015 when the Golden State Warriors won the title after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the 2015 NBA Finals series, Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He shot 52.1% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
In 2021, when Jrue Holiday won the championship with the Bucks, the versatile player averaged 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.2 steals. He shot 36.1% from the field and 31.4% from the 3-point range.
When it comes to their stats in regular season, Jrue Holiday averages 16.1 points, 6.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds after playing 975 games. Andre Iguodala averaged 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the 1,231 regular-season games he played in the NBA.