ORLANDO -- Trending on Twitter on the first day of the NBA Summer League was the name Michael Stockton, a point guard playing for the Jazz squad who played his college years at Westminster, a Division II school in Utah. Stockton is 6-foot-1 and not quick and he has an unorthodox lefthanded jump shot, but it is clear he is tough and knows how to play.
The smarts and toughness on the hardwood were inherited from his Hall of Fame dad, John Stockton, who spent his entire 19-year NBA career with Utah.
A Stockton playing for the Jazz makes sense, just like seeing the name Holiday on the Sixers' roster. While younger brother Jrue Holiday is in Las Vegas playing for the U.S. Select Team, which is helping the U.S. National team prepare for the upcoming Olympics, older brother Justin is trying to open eyes with his play here at Amway Center.
The older Holiday graduated from the Univ. of Washington in the spring of 2011 after a four-year career. He landed on a team in Belgium last year, where he played in 33 games, averaging 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.
It was a different experience, Justin Holiday said of playing in Europe. It was a safe environment so I was happy with that but it was a different experience playing pro basketball and I think it helped me mature as far as knowing that I can do certain things on the floor... knowing when to help and being able to play against bigger guys and show that I can do that.
Holiday does not know what his basketball future holds, the only thing he knows is that basketball will always be a constant in his life.
It is going to be awhile before I give up on basketball, Holiday said adamantly. Hopefully this works out for me somewhere in the NBA because that is where I want to be. I want to get better and play at the best level of basketball there is.
NBA
Sean Holiday, Justin and Jrues dad, who is a regular at Sixers games despite his California residence, took in the first two days of Summer League play and liked what he saw from his oldest son.
I think he is putting himself in a great position where possibly he can be picked up by a team this year, the elder Holiday said. I thought last year hurt him because of the shortened season and they didnt have a Summer League and this year the Summer League has given him a chance to show what he can do.
Similar to his European experience, Justin Holiday is playing against bigger players in the Orlando Pro Summer League, playing some power forward despite his lean frame.
Justin has a very different body than his younger brother. Jrue is a strong 6-foot-4 point guard, while Justin is a lanky 6-foot-7 and weighs 185 pounds. But those backyard one-on-one matches between brothers over the years have paid off.
Because of his body size, it helped me be able to guard guys that are bigger, Justin said of his countless games playing against Jrue. "I would use my length because that is what I do have. It's better for me and Jrue because we were different types of players.
When they were younger, Jrue was more the aggressor on the offensive side of the ball and Justin was more on the defensive side, Sean Holiday recalled. It was when Justin got to high school that he got more aggressive offensively. It wasnt that he couldnt do it. He would take his shots when he had them but he didnt dribble penetrate like Jrue did. Jrue has always done that.
But if you watch them, a lot of their games are similar, Holiday explained. They both rebound, they both love to play defense and they can put the ball on the floor and shoot.
On Wedesday, Justin Holiday had his best offensive performance of the week, scoring 18 points (4 for 4 from three) and grabbing six rebounds. His scoring and shooting percentage have gotten better with each game, his rebounding has been consistent and his defense has been tremendous.
I just want to show I play hard no matter what happens at both ends of the floor, Justin explained. If I make a bad shot or make a bad play I am still going to play hard, and running up and down is playing to my strength. I like to run up and down because I am in good condition and I think the running shows that.
And this Holiday fits a formula the Sixers have implemented over the last couple of years.
He is versatile and we like to have guys that play different positions, assistant coach Aaron McKie said. Guys that can handle the ball, shoot the ball and he is one of those guys. He is a little undersized to be playing the four position but in this environment we will try to use him at that position where we can take advantage of his skill set.
In McKies mind, Justin Holiday is absolutely an NBA player, maybe even a right fit to be teammates with his brother as he was back in high school.
You take the offensive part out of it because that has to get polished up a little bit, McKie said. But defensively he talks, he rotates, he understands defensive schemes and he is very vocal out there which I love. Any great team throughout the course of history is vocal and communicates out on the floor and that is what we struggled with last year. Associate head coach Michael Curry and I talk and say how surprised we were how good we were defensively without being a team that talked. We need guys like that.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com