Milwaukee Bucks star point guard Jrue Holiday said it was draining, physically and mentally, to guard Kevin Durant during the semifinals of the Eastern Conference in the 2020 postseason.
In a recent episode of JJ Redick’s podcast, The Old Man and The Three, Jrue Holiday talked about the experience of going against one of the best players in the history of the NBA in Nets’ Kevin Durant.
Holiday was called to guard KD in various occasions during a draining seven-game series between the Nets and the Bucks. Milwaukee ended up winning the 2021 NBA championship in six games vs. the Phoenix Suns.
(via clutchpoints.com):
“Mentally, it was draining. Again, mentally it’s draining because I feel like you do everything you can to stop somebody, and it’s not working. With Kevin Durant, it is pretty much just like, it’s gonna sound weird, but it’s “Mentally penetrating” and like he’s not stopping.
And physically, I was hurting. I mean, everybody was. As a matter of fact, you can see KD in game 7 you knew he was tired, you knew he was gassed, but man both teams left it out there.
After that series, I was like man, look whatever happens after this… We have to win now. We did too much and came to far.”
