3× NBA All-Defensive First Team player Jrue Holiday reveals his top 3 toughest players to guard feat. Kobe Bryant

Three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team player Jrue Holiday gamely answered who the toughest players were for him to guard in the NBA. He named three explosive guards, including the late great Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers.

In a video post by FIBA, which was uploaded on X on July 25, Holiday was asked who were the hardest opponents to guard for him ever. He named Derrick Rose, Bryant and Kemba Walker.

Check out what he had to say below:

In the video, Jrue Holiday did not explain why he chose the three. But throughout his NBA career, the two-time NBA All-Star guard has been tasked most of the time to guard the opposing teams' best players. It is a role he continues to play with the newly minted NBA champions Boston Celtics.

Holiday had a lot of battles against Bryant while he was still playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans. He was also pitted against a young Rose (Chicago Bulls) and Walker (Charlotte Hornets) out in the Eastern Conference.

Incidentally, Bryant, Rose and Walker, like Holiday now, donned the Team USA colors in international competitions at one point in their careers.

Defensive stalwart Jrue Holiday seeks to add Olympic gold to banner 2024

Boston Celtics defensive stalwart Jrue Holiday is looking to enhance an eventful 2024 so far with a gold medal in the Paris Olympic Games in addition to the second NBA title he recently won.

34-year-old Holiday is part of Team USA tasked to win a fifth straight Olympic gold, an opportunity he views with a lot of significance.

He shared, by way of NBA.com:

"It's cool to even think about it (winning an NBA title and Olympic gold). [But] to be able to serve your country, to be able to play with some of the best players in this country where you can feel greatness in the room is a hell of an honor."

With Team USA, Jrue Holiday is counted on to provide the defensive presence and energy for a loaded squad of NBA stars.

"'We have scorers. Anyone can score 25, 30 on any given night. We want our players to embrace defense,' coach Steve Kerr of the presence of players like Holiday in the U.S. squad."

Apart from Holiday, also part of Team USA are LeBron James and Anthony Davis (LA Lakers), Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors), Kevin Durant and Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves) Jayson Tatum and Derrick White (Boston Celtics), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers) and Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat).

They begin their Olympic bid on July 28 against three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia in a Group C match.