The legendary, highly physical 2021 postseason war between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets was a double-edged sword for Jrue Holiday. Though his Bucks team survived the grueling seven-game bout, he meanwhile gained a major fear and distressing basketball experience in facing Kevin Durant.
Holiday admitted in his recent guest on Adrian Wojnarowski’s the Woj Pod podcast that his encounter against Durant in the said playoff matchup gave him chills and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-like feelings whenever he stepped onto the court of the Barclays Center, via Heavy:
“It took years off my life. It was – Every time I feel like we stepped into Barclays, it’s like PTSD,” Holiday said. “At least for me personally, every time I step in, I get this like this exciting feeling but, at the same time, a little bit of nervousness. Which, like I’m not the type to get nervous playing basketball.
“I’ve done it my whole life. But that series took so much out of me personally. The way that KD was just willing his team and putting them on his back… like it doesn’t give me nightmares because we won, but I still see it all the time.”
Despite being down on a devastating 0-2 hole to start the series, Milwaukee managed to fight back and climb their way up the summit to outlast the Nets.
But more than this ultimate triumph they made, Durant’s all-time performance made a gigantic splash – which prompted fans to acknowledge and appreciate his greatness amid scrutiny he absorbed when he further empowered the Golden State Warriors.
Stepping up necessary with Kyrie Irving and James Harden banged up with injuries, Durant went god mode and registered 35.4 points, 10.6 boards, and 5.4 assists to charge the Nets with all his will. The superstar forward’s Game 5 display to hand his troop a 3-2 series lead was sensational, leading Brooklyn to a 17-point comeback.
But when the do-or-die Game 7 took place, fate didn’t favor Durant and the Nets – with the superstar forward notably coming, in short, to send the Bucks home.
“Every time we look back and talk about that series, it’s like, ‘do you realize what happened? Like if KD wore a size 15 shoe, this could all be different,'” Holiday continued. “I mean, his big toe was on the line when he hit that when he hit that two-pointer. So it’s like, yeah, when you look back on it you have to appreciate it.”
The Bucks sealed the deal on the road – winning the epic Game 7 and eventually clinching their first title in 50 years behind the lead of Giannis Antetokoummpo.
