Jrue Holiday


Jrue Randall Holiday is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers 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 76ers before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013. In 2020, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks and won his first NBA championship with the team in 2021. Holiday was later traded to the Boston Celtics via the Portland Trail Blazers in 2023 and won his second NBA championship with the team in 2024 before being traded back to Portland in the 2025 offseason.
Holiday is a two-time NBA All-Star and six-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He also won a gold medal with the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Olympic teams. Holiday is widely regarded as one of the best defensive guards in NBA history.

Early life

Holiday was born to Shawn & 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 first-team All-American. Holiday also played in the McDonald's All-American Game, tallying 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Off the court, he was a member of Campbell Hall's gospel choir, the percussion section leader in the school's orchestra, and the manager of the school's girls' tennis team.

College career

In 2008–09, Holiday played alongside fellow future NBA player Darren Collison in the backcourt at UCLA. In 35 games, he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 27.1 minutes per game. Holiday shot 45.0% from the floor, 30.7% from three-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. Holiday 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)

Early years (2009–2012)

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, Holiday 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, Holiday set a new career high with 30 points against the Chicago Bulls.

First All-Star selection (2012–2013)

On November 25, 2012, Holiday 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, Holiday matched his career high with 33 points against the Toronto Raptors. Eight days later, he scored a career-high 35 points against the New York Knicks. On January 24, Holiday 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 (2013–2020)

Injuries and comeback (2013–2017)

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. Holiday had not played since January 8 due to 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. Holiday 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, Holiday scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting in a 113–101 victory 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.

First All-Defensive selection and Teammate of the Year Award (2017–2020)

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, Holiday scored 34 points in a 125–115 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Six days later against the Philadelphia 76ers, he made five three-pointers in the fourth quarter, when he scored 19 of his 34 points, helping the Pelicans win 131–124. The next day, Holiday 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, Holiday recorded 19 points and 17 assists in a 121–116 victory 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, helping New Orleans take a 2–0 series lead with a 111–102 victory. In Game 4, he 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 victory over the Chicago Bulls. He eclipsed 2,000 career assists with his fifth of the game. Five days later, Holiday had 29 points and matched a season high with 14 assists in a 126–110 victory over the Raptors. On December 3, he had season highs of 32 points and 14 assists in a 129–126 loss to the Clippers. Six days later, Holiday scored 37 points in a 116–108 victory over the Detroit Pistons. On January 29, 2019, he had 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and a career-high six blocks in a 121–116 victory 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, Holiday underwent season-ending surgery to repair a core muscle injury.
On December 28, 2019, against the Indiana Pacers, Holiday and brothers Justin and Aaron of the Pacers became the first trio of brothers to share an NBA court simultaneously. On March 8, 2020, Holiday scored a season-high 37 points with nine rebounds and eight assists in a 120–107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Milwaukee Bucks (2020–2023)

2020–21 season: Sportsmanship Award and First NBA championship

On November 24, 2020, Holiday was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a four-team trade, involving the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder, in which the Pelicans acquired Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams, and draft compensation.
On March 4, 2021, Holiday scored 15 points in 23 minutes and hit a game-winning 11-foot jump shot in a narrow 112–111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. On April 3, he scored a season-high 33 points on 14-of-23 shooting with seven rebounds and 11 assists in a narrow 129–128 victory over the Kings. The following day, Holiday agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Bucks, worth up to $160 million. He had an option for the 2021–22 season worth $26 million. On his way to an NBA First Team All Defense selection, Holiday averaged a team-high 1.63 steals per game for the Bucks, which was fifth best in the league. He also made multiple steals in 32 games, which was the second most of any player in the league over the season.
On May 24, 2021, Holiday recorded a postseason career-high 15 assists, alongside 11 points and seven rebounds, in a 132–98 Game 2 victory over the Miami Heat in their first-round playoff series. The Bucks eventually won the series in a four-game sweep. In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks, Holiday recorded 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a 118–107 victory, leading the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Finals for the first time since 1974. In Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns, Holiday put up 27 points, four rebounds, and 13 assists, and recorded a critical steal from Devin Booker, which led to an alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo with less than 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks win 123–119. In Game 6, Holiday recorded a near triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists to help Milwaukee to a 105–98 victory, closing out the Suns 4–2, securing the 2021 NBA title for the Bucks and awarding Holiday his first championship.