101 Greats of European Basketball

Pau Gasol. The ball stayed in his hands until, with a little
over 2 seconds left, Holden rose on the right wing to
shoot over Jose Manuel Calderon. The ball hit two sides
of the rim and then high off the backboard before falling
in. A timeout by Spanish coach Pepu Hernandez was
useless even though Gasol managed to take a final shot
that missed by a hair. Russian basketball was back with a
new title, thanks to Holden’s shot.
The coach for Russia in 2007, David Blatt, told me
about the game and that last play:
“When Spain missed its play, I didn’t have another
timeout, so I just shouted to J.R. to wait a little and finish
off the play by himself. What he did reminded me a little
of that famous play by Michael Jordan in the sixth game
of the NBA Finals in 1998. Holden almost did the same.”
About Holden’s general features, Blatt said: “He was
a leader but also a team player, with lots of self-confidence
and trust in his teammates. His path to glory was
slow, but more than deserved.”
Madrid was now a good-luck city for Holden. In the
spring of 2008, he celebrated his second EuroLeague
title with CSKA on the same stage where he had become
the Russian hero the previous summer. In the Final Four,
CSKA defeated Tau Ceramica in the semis by 83-79 with
15 points by Holden, while in the title game against Maccabi
it was a bit easier, 91-77, with J.R. scoring 14 points.
After the triumph in Madrid, Holden played in the
2008 Olympics in Beijing, fulfilling another dream. Although
Russia didn’t prosper and finished ninth, Holden
played really well, with 17.6 points and 4.8 assists
on average. It was his last appearance with the Russian
national team.
Holden would play four more seasons for CSKA,
where he retired in 2012 at 36 years old. He left behind
two EuroLeague crowns, a EuroBasket gold medal with
Russia, plus six national league and five cup titles won
in Latvia, Belgium, Greece and Russia. He also earned
a spot on the EuroLeague all-decade team for 2000
to 2010. One of Holden’s most remarkable feats he
shares with Papaloukas, his former backcourt partner:
eight consecutive Final Four appearances, a record that
will be hard for anyone to break. All of this for a player
who literally played his first season in Europe for a fistful
of dollars.
101 greats of european basketball
Jon Robert Holden
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