Jrue Holiday, Derrick White named to NBA's All-Defensive Second Team

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics possessed one of the best defenses in the NBA throughout the season, in large part because of their excellent backcourt duo of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. The two received some All-Defensive love from the NBA on Tuesday. 

Both Holiday and White were named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team, the NBA announced Tuesday afternoon. They'll celebrate that honor for a bit, and then go out and try to slow down Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on Tuesday night.

Holiday is used to getting All-Defensive recognition, as he's now made the First or Second Team three times apiece. He was All-Defensive First Team last season while with the Milwaukee Bucks, and also received those honors in 2021 (with the Bucks) and 2018 (with the New Orleans Pelicans). He was on the All-Defensive Second Team in 2022 and 2019 prior to this season.

For White, this is his second straight season on the Second Team, after he recorded new career highs with 87 blocks and 74 steals. He also contested 480 shots during the regular season, which ranked third among all NBA guards. Not bad for a guy who is only 6-foot-4. 

Holiday logged 61 thefts and 54 rejections, but his defense is much more than just stats. He can bully just about anyone on the court and make life miserable for players whether they have the ball in their hands or not. 

The Celtics put out one of the NBA's best defenses throughout the season, finishing third with a defensive rating of 106.1. Only the Orlando Magic (100.0) and Oklahoma City Thunder (104.5) finished ahead of Boston's defense. 

White received 15 First Team votes and 68 for the Second Team, giving him 98 total points. Holiday finished with six First Team votes and 24 Second Team votes for 36 points.

Elsewhere on the Boston roster, Jaylen Brown received three First Teams votes and one Second Team for a total of seven points, while Jayson Tatum received two Second Team votes. Brown was All-Defensive Second Team last season, while Tatum has yet to receive an All-Defensive nod in his career. 

At some point Tatum will get the defensive recognition he deserves, and Brown should make a few more All-Defensive teams before his time is done. Given Boston's defensive success throughout the year, it's easy to argue that they should have made one of the two teams this season.

But it's hard to argue with the voters this year, too. Minnesota's Rudy Gobert led all players with 99 First Team votes, and was joined by San Antonio rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, Miami's Bam Adebayo, New Orleans' Herb Jones, and Los Angeles' Anthony Davis on the First Team. Chicago's Alex Caruso, Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels, and Orlando's Jalen Suggs joined White and Holiday on the Second Team.