Jrue Holiday

Born on June 12, 1990, in Los Angeles, California, Jrue Randall Holiday is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Holiday played college basketball at UCLA for two seasons before declaring for the 2009 NBA draft. He was selected 17th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers and played for them for four seasons before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013.

In 2020, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks and played a crucial role in their championship run, averaging 17.7 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals. Holiday is known for his strong defensive abilities and his versatile offensive game.

Early Life

Jrue Holiday was born on June 12, 1990, in Chatsworth, California. He grew up in a basketball family; his father, Shawn, played college basketball at Arizona State, and his mother, Toya, played college basketball at Merced College.

Jrue attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, where he played high school basketball and was a highly ranked recruit. After graduating from high school, he attended UCLA for one year before entering the NBA draft. At UCLA, he was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team and helped lead the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament.

NBA Journey

Holiday was named the 2008 Gatorade National Player of the Year, a Parade Magazine First Team All-American and was rated by Rivals.com. As the No. 1 point guard and the No. 2 overall prospect in the Class of 2008 Holiday decided to play his college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. In his freshman season, Holiday averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in 27.1 minutes per game and was named Pac-10 All-Freshman Team honors.

Holiday decided to forgo his final three years of college and declare himself for the NBA Draft. Holiday was drafted as the 17th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He was selected for the first time as an All-Star in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game as an Eastern Conference reserve, making him the youngest player in franchise history to be named an All-Star.

In the 2012-13 off-season, Holiday was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Pelicans' 2014 first-round draft pick and Nerlens Noel. He re-signed with the Pelicans in 2017. In the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, Holiday scored a playoff-career-high 41 points as the Pelicans completed a first-round sweep of the Trail Blazers with a 131–123 victory. For the series, he averaged 27.8 points, 6.5 assists and 4 rebounds per game while shooting 56.8 percent from the field. The Pelicans went onto lose the second round against the Golden State Warriors in 5 games.

Awards and Achievements

Net Worth

The Bucks guard has an estimated net worth of $30 million. In November 2020, he signed a four-year, $134 million contract extension with the team. This contract will keep him with the Bucks through the 2024-25 NBA season.

Family

Jrue Holiday was born to Shawn and Toya in Los Angeles, California. Jrue's brothers also have successful basketball careers. Justin Holiday currently plays for the Indiana Pacers and Aaron Holiday plays for the Washington Wizards. His sister-in-law, Lauren Holiday (formerly Lauren Cheney), is a retired American professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist.

Wife

Jrue Holiday is married to Lauren Cheney, who is a retired American professional soccer player. The couple has two children, a daughter named Jrue Tyler Holiday, and a son named Hendrix Holiday. The two first met at a UCLA women's basketball game during his only season at the school. As a couple, they started organizing annual basketball and soccer clinics at UCLA.

Shoes

Jrue Holiday has a signature shoe line with Nike called the Nike Zoom Freak 2, which he debuted during the 2019-2020 NBA season. The shoe is part of the "Zoom Freak" collection created for Milwaukee Bucks player and NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.