“This Mother***ker, He Don’t Play”: Donovan Mitchell Recounts Misjudging 2x All-Star After Eventful First Meeting

A few hours ago, Donovan Mitchell appeared as a guest on Jeff Teague’s ‘Club 520 Podcast’. During the conversation, co-host DJ Wells highlighted that the 5x NBA All-Star was someone who “came in the league going crazy”. Despite this, Wells was curious to know if there was any player who surprised Mitchell during his rookie season by putting up an unbreakable defence against his “crazy” capabilities. The 27-year-old took some time to think and ponder upon the question. In the end, he came upon the name of Boston Celtics point guard Jrue Holiday.

Mitchell recalled that he initially didn’t think much of Holiday when catching a first glimpse of the then New Orleans Pelicans player. This sentiment was passed on to him by his then assistant coach Johnny Bryant, who did not consider Holiday to be a good defensive match against his rookie.

“I’ll never forget my assistant coach at the time, Johnny Bryant. He was like, ‘Lace ’em up. This mother***ker, he don’t play’” Mitchell recalled. “I was like, ‘Alright. Man, whatever.’”

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Whether it was Bryant’s advice or not, Donovan Mitchell did not let Jrue Holiday’s presence affect him. He pulled off a great offense during the matchup against the Pelicans and ended up scoring a then career high 41 points. While he probably did not make a mistake during the game, he would make a mistake later by getting overconfident, believing that Holiday would never be a match against him. The realization, however, soon dawned on him when the duo met next. During this matchup, Mitchell struggled to repeat his earlier success as the future NBA champion created a strong defence, forcing the point guard to shoot 6-for-17 from the field. While he managed to add 24 points to the overall score, he also developed the realization that Holiday is not someone who should be underestimated.

Kevin Durant was impressed by Jrue Holiday’s defensive skills during the 2018 NBA Finals

Donovan Mitchell was not the only player who saw the potential held by Jrue Holiday. In the 15 years that the latter has devoted to the NBA, he has created a reputation amongst his fellow peers and rivals of being a defensive powerhouse. After all, once does not get named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team 3 times by just being average.

Amongst the people who Holiday impressed was two times NBA champion Kevin Durant. During an appearance on the ‘The Old Man & the Three podcast’, Durant stated that Holiday had the potential to guard even the best players in the league. He came to know about the bitter truth himself when facing off against the player during the 2018 playoffs.

“He was picking me up full court, he was guarding me on the post, and actually, it was tough to dribble on Jrue Holiday” Durant revealed. “I gained a lot of respect for him in that series because he went from guarding me to Steph to Klay to guarding Draymond, neutralizing pick and rolls. He’s special”.

What are your thoughts on Jrue Holiday’s defensive capabilities? Let us know in the comments down below.