NBA ALL-STAR MEDIA DAY

February 18, 2023

Jrue Holiday

Media Day Press Conference

Q. (On tough defenders at the guard position.)

JRUE HOLIDAY: Marcus Smart, Dennis Smith Jr. You are talking about point guards, right? Point and shooting guards?

There's always Paul and Kawhi. Those are always two guys that are going to be great defensively, but I would probably say Marcus is probably my favorite defender. Oh, and Dillon Brooks.

Q. Who is the best dressed player on the Milwaukee Bucks?

JRUE HOLIDAY: On my team? Either Bobby Portis or Jae Crowder.

Q. Do you feel like if you are getting picked last or first in the All-Star Draft?

JRUE HOLIDAY: At this point I don't really care. I just want to be on the team that wins. It's not like I'm a little kid and I'm out at the park playing with Jordan here, us being picked last. If I get picked last in this, it's an honor. I mean, for one, just being here.

All the great talent that they have, man, I'll be all right. My pride won't be hurt.

Q. Do you have a preference on which team you’d like to be on?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Yes, I do have a preference.

Q. What's your preference?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I would rather be with my teammate [Giannis Antetokounmpo]. I'm rolling with him. I won [an NBA championship] with him. I would like to win the All-Star Game with him.

Q. (On being an All-Star alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.)

JRUE HOLIDAY: It's cool. For one, captain. You know? I think just being here to see that, him make history, him do what he does and the day in and day out, see how hard he works. And then for him to come here and kind of celebrate it, I think it's been cool. So for me to celebrate it with him is awesome.

Q. How much has All-Star changed since you were an All-Star in 2013?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Man, it's way different. I mean, just 10 years just in terms of media has been completely different, but you can tell that obviously the NBA does a great job putting on an event like this.

Q. Who is the European GOAT?

JRUE HOLIDAY: That's a tough question. You have a lot of European guys now that are making a tough case. But, I mean, there's always Manu. There's always Dirk. But I don't know. Jokic is -- that fool is good. Then Luka is also pretty good.

I got a teammate that, I mean, two-time MVP. He has been an All-Star almost every year of his career. Had 50 the last game in the Finals.

Q. Would you go with Giannis?

JRUE HOLIDAY: I'm going to have to roll with Giannis for sure. At the end of the day, yeah.

Q. What's the most memorable bucket of your career?

JRUE HOLIDAY: That's a great question.

Q. Easy answer is the first one, but maybe a final shot, anything that stands out?

JRUE HOLIDAY: The only thing that stands out is the steal to the lob, to be honest. That's a play. I didn't score, but I damn near did.

Q. It's kind of a shot.

JRUE HOLIDAY: Yeah, a little bit, yeah. There we go.

Q. What do you think of the Final Target Score they use in the All-Star Game and used in the G League this year and the TBT. Would you like to see that come to the NBA?

JRUE HOLIDAY: The Final Target? No.

Q. Or for overtime?

JRUE HOLIDAY: No.

Q. Don't want to see that?

JRUE HOLIDAY: Huh-uh. Why?

Q. It stops the free throw and the fouling.

JRUE HOLIDAY: Free throws are a part of the game. You still have to go up there and make the free throws. When you are in the Finals and it's Game 6 and you need to knock down free throws, again, it's strategic. It's a part of the game. I would say I would keep it.