Jrue Holiday


Jrue Randall Holiday is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins before being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft with the 17th overall pick. Holiday played four seasons with Philadelphia, where he was named an NBA All-Star in his fourth season, before being traded to the Pelicans in 2013. He is a two-time NBA All-Defensive Team member.

High school career

Holiday was born to Shawn and Toya Holiday. His parents both played college basketball at Arizona State, where Toya was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1982. Holiday attended Campbell Hall School in the Los Angeles district of Studio City, California. As a senior, he averaged 25.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 4.8 steals per game. The team went 31–5 and won the California Division IV state title. Holiday was rated the No. 1 point guard and the No. 2 overall prospect in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com. He was named the 2008 Gatorade National Player of the Year and a Parade Magazine First Team All-American. He also played in the McDonald's All-American Game, tallying 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.

College career

In 2008–09, Holiday played alongside fellow future NBA player Darren Collison in the backcourt at UCLA. In 35 games, Holiday averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 27.1 minutes per game. He shot 45.0% from the floor, 30.7% from 3-point range and 72.6% from the line, earning Pac-10 All-Freshman Team honors. He scored a career-high 20 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting in just 19 minutes of play against Florida International. He had 13 points and six assists in UCLA's one-point win over Virginia Commonwealth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After the season, he declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2009–2013)

Holiday was drafted 17th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2009 NBA draft. On April 3, 2010, he scored a season-high 25 points against the Toronto Raptors. On November 5, 2010, he set a new career high with 29 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On February 2, 2011, he recorded his first career triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against the New Jersey Nets. On March 17, 2012, he set a new career high with 30 points against the Chicago Bulls. On November 25, 2012, he set a new career high with 33 points against the Phoenix Suns. On January 2, 2013, he recorded his second career triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Suns. On January 18, 2013, he matched his career high with 33 points against the Toronto Raptors. On January 26, 2013, he scored a career-high 35 points against the New York Knicks. Two days earlier, he was selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. With his first All-Star selection, the 22-year-old Holiday became the youngest player in franchise history to be named an All-Star.

New Orleans Pelicans (2013–present)

On July 12, 2013, Holiday was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Nerlens Noel and the Pelicans' 2014 first-round draft pick. His 2013–14 season ended prematurely after season-ending surgery in February 2014 for a stress fracture in his right tibia. He had not played since January 8 because of the shin injury. In 34 games, he averaged 14.3 points, 7.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
On January 5, 2015, against the Washington Wizards, Holiday reached 5,000 career points. On February 18, he was ruled out for three weeks after aggravating an already injured lower right leg. He returned to action much later than originally expected, coming off the bench against the Phoenix Suns on April 10 after missing 41 games.
On March 9, 2016, Holiday scored a career-high 38 points against the Charlotte Hornets. On March 29, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a right interior orbital wall fracture.
On November 18, 2016, Holiday made his season debut after missing the Pelicans' first 12 games while on a leave of absence to care for his wife. In 23 minutes off the bench, he scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting in a 113–101 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On January 23, 2017, he had 33 points and 10 assists in a 124–122 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On July 6, 2017, Holiday re-signed with the Pelicans. On November 9, he had a season-high 34 points and 11 assists in a 122–118 loss to the Toronto Raptors. On December 4, he scored 34 points in a 125–115 loss to the Golden State Warriors. On December 10, he made five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, when he scored 19 of his 34 points, helping the Pelicans defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 131–124. A day later, he had a season-high 37 points in a 130–123 loss to the Houston Rockets. On February 25, 2018, he scored 28 of his 36 points after halftime to lead the Pelicans to a 123–121 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 6, he recorded 19 points and 17 assists in a 121–116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. On March 27, he had 21 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in a 107–103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. In Game 2 of the Pelicans' first-round playoff series against the Trail Blazers, Holiday had a career playoff-high 33 points in helping New Orleans take a 2–0 series lead with a 111–102 win. In Game 4, Holiday scored 41 points as the Pelicans completed a first-round sweep of the Trail Blazers with a 131–123 victory. The Pelicans went on to lose in five games to the Warriors in the second round, with Holiday recording 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 113–104 loss in Game 5.
On November 7, 2018, Holiday had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 107–98 win over the Chicago Bulls. He eclipsed 2,000 career assists with his fifth of the game. On November 12, he had 29 points and matched a season high with 14 assists in a 126–110 win over the Raptors. On December 3, he had season highs of 32 points and 14 assists in a 129–126 loss to the Clippers. On December 9, he scored 37 points in a 116–108 win over the Detroit Pistons. On January 29, he had 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds and a career-high six blocks in a 121–116 win over the Rockets, becoming the first guard in NBA history with at least 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists and six blocks in a game. On March 26, he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a core muscle injury.
On March 8, 2020, Holiday scored a season-high 37 points, to go with nine rebounds and eight assists in a 120–107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal life

Both of Holiday's brothers, Justin and Aaron are also NBA players. His younger sister, Lauren, played college basketball on the UCLA women's team.
In July 2013, Holiday married United States women's national soccer team midfielder Lauren Cheney. The two first met at a UCLA women's basketball game during his only season at the school. While he was approaching his seat, a young girl asked if he was Darren Collison and asked for his autograph. After explaining that he was not Collison and preparing to take his seat, Cheney, who was seated behind him, said, "Don't worry, you're cuter than Darren is." At the time, both were in relationships with others, but they became friends, and began dating after he was drafted by the Sixers. They later began hosting annual combo basketball and soccer clinics at UCLA.
In September 2016, Holiday took indefinite leave from the Pelicans to care for his wife after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The following month, Lauren had brain surgery only weeks after giving birth to the couple's daughter, Jrue Tyler Holiday.
Holiday is a Christian. Holiday has said, “I'm a Christian athlete who has faith in Jesus Christ. So when I encounter circumstances over which I have no control, I believe and have peace.”
Holiday and his wife Lauren are expecting their second child, a boy, in late 2020.