Holiday assumed the starting point guard role in the 2017–18 season after Ball was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. UCLA lost four starters from the previous year, leaving Holiday as the team's leading returning scorer. He and five-star freshman recruit Jaylen Hands gave the Bruins two fast guards capable of handling the ball, and they were expected to play alongside each other as well as share point guard duties. Against Wisconsin in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, Holiday made a layup with 0.8 seconds left in the game to give UCLA a 72–70 win. On December 9, 2017, he had then-career highs of 27 points and seven turnovers as UCLA had 20 turnovers and blew a 15-point, second-half lead in a 78–69 overtime loss to Michigan. On December 23, Holiday had 20 points and eight assists to offset another seven turnovers in an 83–75 upset over No. 7 Kentucky. The performance helped him earn Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. On December 29 in UCLA's conference opener, Holiday scored 23 of the Bruins' first 32 points, including 15 straight, and finished with a career-high 33 points in a 96–82 win over Washington State. He added 11 rebounds and four assists and did not commit a turnover while playing all 40 minutes. He was the first UCLA player to have at least 33 points and 11 rebounds in a game since Ed O'Bannon in 1995.
