Every Good Team Needs an Aaron Holiday as He Showed in Rockets' Win

After the Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant, they were seen as one of the few teams with a legitimate chance of winning an NBA title this season. Even though they had to trade away their leading scorer, Jalen Green, and their defensive captain, Dillon Brooks, many believed trading for a player like Durant was well worth what they had to send out.

The Rockets were coming off a 52-win season and their first playoff appearance since 2020. The Rockets were returning most of their main core and were ready to begin training camp. However, the situation would take a bad turn for the Rockets right before training camp.

As the Rockets were preparing to all meet in Houston for the start of training camp, news came down that Fred VanVleet had suffered a torn ACL in an offseason workout, which will more than likely keep him out the entire season. The Rockets were already down one guard after trading away Jalen Green, and now would be without their floor general for most, if not all, of the season.

The belief at the time was that Amen Thompson would take over the point guard duties, and Reed Sheppard, who was already going to take on a bigger role, would have to step up even more now in VanVleet's absence. One player who wasn't mentioned much before the start of the season was Aaron Holiday.

Aaron Holiday continues to prove how valuable he is to the Rockets

Holiday is entering his third season with the Rockets as part of Ime Udoka initiative to bring in more veterans to help guide the younger players on the Rockets. Holiday of course is part of the Holiday brother trio that has played in the NBA for almost a decade.

Jrue Holiday is the more well known of the three, but Aaron has carved out a nice career for himself in the NBA. Holiday is a reliable 3-Point shooter who gives maximum effort on the defensive end. Holiday has spent most of his career coming off the bench for various teams but since coming to the Rockets he has at times played major minutes and other times barely seen the floor.

That is what makes Holiday so valuable to any winning team: the willingness to go several games without seeing the court, and then, when needed, can come in and provide a spark as he has in the last handful of games for the Rockets. In the first ten games of the season, Holiday didn't play more than 9 minutes in any game, as he would only come in during garbage time.

Since he has played 13 minutes or more in five straight games and has scored in double digits in four of the games, including 22 points in Monday night's win over the Phoenix Suns, it is those types of games that show why Holiday is so valuable. Not every player is willing to take a backseat, especially during the prime years of their career, but Holiday is the ultimate team player who does whatever it takes to win.