Brandon Jennings Calling Out Jrue Holiday & ’09 Crew Attracts Backlash From Ex-Celtics Star

“Jrue Holiday has never been better than me.” Brandon Jennings calling out members of his own draft class has put him on target from all directions. The claims made by Jennings put him above other players of his draft class like Holiday, Jeff Teague, and Ty Lawson. The strongest backlash, however, has come from a former Boston Celtics star, who according to Jennings was never in discussion in the first place.

The ex-NBA star in discussion is Marcus Thornton, who once suited up for the Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and more. Originally drafted by the Miami Heat in 2009 before beginning his career with the New Orleans Hornets, he clearly wasn’t about to let Jennings throw shade at their draft class without speaking up.

“… You couldn’t do nothing with me at all… First of all, you were too small… You would think you averaged 40 goddamn points in the league or something. Multiple-time All-Star, man. You wasn’t that, bruh. You wasn’t that,” Thornton fired back.

This whole mess started when Jennings confidently declared, “They’re [players like Holiday, Teague, and more from his draft class] not better than me.” His go-to argument? That legendary 55-point performance in his rookie season. “I had 55 as a rookie—not even starting,” he reminded everyone.

But one game doesn’t define a career. Especially, when you compare yourself to someone like Holiday, who was far more consistent and significantly better with his scoring and playmaking than Jennings ever was, and that’s exactly why the rest of Brandon’s peers weren’t having it.

Ty Lawson went straight for the kill. In a resurfaced Instagram video, he made it clear: “Bruh, you was cool… But you wasn’t nicer than me in the NBA.” And, this is not the first time that Jennings declared himself better than his peers in the league.

The time when Brandon Jennings declared himself better than Timberwolves’ Spanish basketball star

Brandon Jennings never held back his thoughts, and back in 2009, he made it crystal clear that he wasn’t buying into the Ricky Rubio hype. Jennings, who took the unconventional route of skipping college to play professionally in Europe, wasn’t impressed with the Spanish prospect. In fact, he outright dismissed the buzz surrounding Rubio as overblown. As SI.com reported, Jennings didn’t mince words when comparing himself to the Timberwolves’ young star.

“Yeah, I think I’m a better player than he is,” Jennings had confidently told reporters. “I just shoot the ball better than he can. The only thing I’ve seen him do sometimes is when he has a home run pass or something like that. I think the dude is just all hype. I can’t even front. I’m just going to be real with you guys.”

And he didn’t stop there. Jennings believed that if Rubio had to go up against other top young guards like Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, or Stephen Curry in a workout, he wouldn’t even be at the top of the list. That’s a bold claim, considering how some of those names turned out.

But Jennings had receipts. When asked about their previous head-to-head matchup, he wasted no time pointing to the numbers. “Well, when I played him, he had zero points, two assists, and two turnovers. So you tell me how that went.”

Confidence? No shortage of it. But while Jennings talked the talk, Rubio went on to carve out a respectable NBA career. So, was he really all hype? That’s up for debate.