With the NBA regular season concluding on Sunday, many teams across the league decided to rest their starters as some teams gear up for the postseason and some are gearing up for where they will be vacationing at. Well, everyone except the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and having little to play for (being guaranteed a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the playoffs) Jrue Holiday was still placed in the starting lineup for Sunday's matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside players who will likely not see much playing time in the postseason. However, once the ball tipped, Holiday immediately committed a foul and exited the game--$306K richer.
Once Darius Garland secured the tip, Holiday immediately fouled him at half court and exited the game in favor of Lindell Wigginton, a rookie guard who entered Sunday's game having played a grand total of 159 minutes in the NBA. Holiday's time on the court lasted a total of just eight seconds.
So why did Holiday even play in the first place? As a part of his contract, Holiday was set to earn his hefty bonus by playing in 67 games this season. Despite his appearance being brief, Sunday's game was his 67th game.
Many across the NBA community reacted to Holiday earning the massive bonus, including LeBron James.
Unfournaltey or fortunately for the Bucks, their loss dropped them down to the coveted No. 3 seed which puts them against the injury-riddled Bulls. The Celtics moved past them for the No. 2 seed and a potential matchup with the Nets in the first round.
Holiday averaged over 18 points a night for the Bucks this season. He’ll try to keep the year alive in the playoffs as Milwaukee looks to repeat as NBA Champions.
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