Holiday, one of the best defensive point guards in the draft, was among six prospects at the team’s training center Tuesday showcasing their talents in front of President Donnie Walsh and Head Coach Mike D’Antoni in hopes of catching on with one of the league’s most storied franchises.

New York holds the eighth pick in the upcoming draft.

“I’d be a part of history playing at Madison Square Garden as my home gym,” Holiday said. “Next to the Lakers, because I live in L.A., this is the place to be basketball-wise.”

Standing 6-feet-4, Holiday is the tallest and perhaps most intriguing point guard in the draft. His 6-7 wingspan and 8-4 standing reach also measured the longest of all point guards, placing him among the top defensive prospects in the draft.

Holiday’s long arms help him collect steals and deflections along the perimeter, two intangibles D’Antoni constantly looks for from his perimeter players. Holiday could also help on the glass and would provide additional shot blocking for the Knicks, who ranked last in the league in rejections last season.

Pointing out former Bruins Trevor Ariza, Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook, among others, Holiday believes he could be the latest product of UCLA to come out early and shine as a defender in the NBA.

“There are a lot of people in the league who don’t play defense like UCLA players do,” he said.

Not only could Holiday fill the need for another quality defender in the Knicks’ backcourt, but he could also give the Knicks another floor leader in D’Antoni’s fast-paced offense. New York loves to run, and Holiday is known for his high basketball IQ and good vision on the court.

“I can distribute the ball, I’m a leader and I can definitely see the floor and get it to the open man,” Holiday said. “And I can score myself.”

Holiday’s averages of 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists during his first and only season with the Bruins barely matched his potential, but most NBA experts are still projecting him to be a lottery pick. The 18-year-old was forced to play out of position at shooting guard when Darren Collison unexpectedly returned for another season, which is likely the reason for his mediocre numbers.

“Darren was our starting point guard for four years and the senior captain of the team. He took us to the Final Four three times, so he knew what he was doing,” Holiday said.

Holiday might not have had the opportunity to showoff his point guard skills in college, but he believes the draft workouts will show enough teams that he can play both guard positions.

“I think it helps me because they see that I can play off-guard as well as point guard. I’m showing them my point guard skills now,” he said. “They saw that I can play the two, but I’m playing the one now.”