Jrue Randall Holiday was born on June 12, 1990, in Los Angeles, California. Both of his parents, Shawn and Toya, were basketball players for the Arizona State college teams. Toya even won the 10-Pac Player of the Year in 1982. He has two brothers, Justin and Aaron, who are both NBA players.
Jrue was a student at Campbell Hall School in Studio City, where he averaged 25.9 points per game, 11.2 rebounds per game, 6.9 assists per game and 4.8 steals per game as a senior. He helped the team to win the California Division IV state championship and was selected the 2008 Gatorade National Player of the Year as well as a Parade first-team All-American.
Rivals.com rated Jrue as a number one point guard and number two player overall in the Class of 2008. He took part in the McDonald’s All-American Game, where he scored 14 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, made 3 assists and snatched 5 steals.
Jrue Holiday – College Basketball at UCLA
Jrue Holiday enrolled in the University of California, where he played for their team, Bruins. He played in 35 games as a part of the starting lineup during his freshman season.
He averaged 8.5 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, and 1.6 steals, with a playing time of 27.1 minutes. He was selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. He decided to forgo the rest of his college career and entered the 2009 NBA Draft.
Jrue Holiday – Philadelphia 76ers
Holiday was taken 17th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2009 NBA draft. He has established himself as one of the league’s best backup point guards.
On November 5, 2010, he scored a career-high 29 points in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He made his first career triple-double on February 2, 2011, by posting 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
On March 17, 2012, he improved his career-high by scoring 30 points against the Chicago Bulls. On November 25, 2012, he topped that in a game versus the Phoenix Suns, with 33 points.
The same season, he gave his second triple-double performance, this time scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and giving 10 assists, during the January 2, 2013 game against the Phoenix. He developed further, making his new career-high of 35 points on January 26, 2013.
His incredible performances were recognized by the public as he was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star reserve for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. Being 22 years old, he became the youngest Sixer to ever participate in the event.
Jrue Holiday – New Orleans Pelicans
For the 2013-14 regular season, Jrue Holiday joined the New Orleans Pelicans, as he was traded to the new team for Nerlens Noel and a future first-round draft pick.
He didn’t play for long in his debut season, as he had to undergo surgery on his right tibia. The injury ruled him out since January, and the surgery took place in February of 2014. He managed to play only 34 games for the Pelicans, and he averaged 14.3 points, 7.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
The next season, he reached the 5,000 career points mark. Later, history repeated itself, as he had to miss 41 games because of an injury. He got back to action on April 10.
The medical problems were to follow him during the 2015-16 season. After posting a new career-high of 38 points on March 9, 2016. Twenty days later, he had to end his run this season, because he fractured a right interior orbital wall.
Sadly, his family had health problems too. He started the 2016-17 season just on November 18, 2016, because he had to look after his wife, Lauren. Sadly, Lauren had a brain tumor. The Pelicans decided to offer him another contract for the next season.
The team went into the playoffs, where Holiday posted a playoff-high 33 points, leading them to win Game 2 of the first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. In Game 4, he scored a new high of 41, helping the Pelicans completely sweep the Blazers 4-0. Later, the Pelicans were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors.
On November 7, 2018, Holiday surpassed the 2,000 career assists mark in a win over the Chicago Bulls. He continued to compile high scores throughout the season.
On January 29, he became the first guard to post 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks in one game, making NBA history. His run ended in March because he had to have another surgery.
On December 28, 2019, against Indiana, he and his brothers Justin and Aaron of the Pacers became the first group of brothers to play on the same NBA court at once.
Jrue Holiday – Milwaukee Bucks
At the beginning of the 2020-21 season, Holiday was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 4, 2021, Holiday scored 15 points in 23 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies, including a game-winning 11-foot jump shot. He was the right fit for the team, as he signed a four-year contract extension, which was worth around 160 million dollars.
Jrue Holiday – NBA First Team All-Defense
Holiday became a true defensive star power as he made multiple steals during the regular season and averaged 1.63. He was selected to the NBA First Team All-Defense.
The Bucks went on the championship run. Holiday posted a playoff-high of 15 assists, as the Bucks swept 4-0 the Miami Heat in the first round. The Bucks went into the NBA finals where they matched up with the Phoenix Suns.
The Bucks won the NBA championship, thanks to the amazing gameplay of the team. Holiday had direct input in the win, performing steals and giving assists in critical moments.
The 2021-22 season started with an ankle injury. When he got back into the game, two other important team members, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were out of the game, but he still managed to help the team to win against the Indiana Pacers on December 15, 2012. Two days later he posted career-high 40 points, five rebounds, five assists, and 2 steals.
Who did the Sixers get when they traded Jrue Holiday?
On draft night, the Sixers made the decision to start a rebuild by trading All-Star guard Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the sixth overall pick, which they used to select Nerlens Noel from Kentucky.
Was Jrue Holiday an all star?
Holiday spent four years with the Philadelphia 76ers, during which time he was selected as an NBA All-Star in his fourth season. In 2013, he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Does Jrue Holiday have a nickname?
Yes, he was often called “Jeru the Damaja”, even though his name is actually pronounced as Drew.
