Milwaukee Bucks: Getting to know All-Star guard Jrue Holiday

Looking at Jrue Holiday’s storied NBA career

Holiday kicked off his professional career with the Philadelphia 76ers after selecting him 17th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.

But as ESPN’s Chad Ford detailed in the wake of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Bucks’ management at the time had their minds set on selecting Holiday with the 10th overall pick before changing their tune and ultimately selecting Brandon jennings on draft night:

"“Just hours before the draft, things started to turn Jennings’ way. The Bucks had been on the fence between Jennings and Jrue Holiday. For much of the past month they had been leaning toward Holiday, but in the final 24 hours they began to have a change of heart. “Jennings has so much upside,” a Bucks source told me hours before the draft. “Sometimes you have to gamble a little. The great teams take calculated risks. I think we need to take a calculated risk.” Two hours later the Bucks jumped in head first and drafted him with the 10th pick.”"

Holiday spent the first four seasons with Philadelphia and earned his sole All-Star nomination during the 2012-13 season at just 22 years old. Following that season, he got traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a draft night trade in exchange for Nerlens Noel and New Orleans’ 2014 first round draft selection.

New Orleans has been Holiday’s home for the past seven seasons where he has continued to develop into a star. It was not all smooth sailing for Holiday, however, as he battled through numerous injuries, having played just 139 regular season games in his first three seasons with the Pelicans. After having suffered a right interior orbital wall fracture in March of 2016, Holiday was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

As he rehabbed for a comeback, Holiday’s life changed momentarily, this time off the court.

Later that year, Jrue’s wife, former U.S. Soccer star Lauren Holiday, was diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant with the pair’s child. Holiday took an indefinite leave of absence from the Pelicans to care for his wife, having missed the first 12 games of the 2016-17 NBA season. Lauren soon gave birth to the child and underwent successful surgery.

All throughout those trying times, the city stood beside Jrue, and he made sure to thank New Orleans in his parting message after being traded to the Bucks:

"“Thank you New Orleans. In my mind, you can always judge people in how they react to when you are at your toughest point. Through all my family’s challenges four years ago, the entire Pelicans’ organization and the city of New Orleans had my back and had my family’s back. The fans throughout the beautiful city of New Orleans always had our back. We love New Orleans, and you loved us back more than we could have ever dreamed of. New Orleans will always hold a special place in our hearts.”"

Over his seven-year tenure with the Pels, Holiday averaged 17.6 points, 6.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game across 415 games. He also bolstered his resume, having won All-Defensive First-Team honors in 2018, All-Defensive Second-Team honors in 2019, and earned the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award just last season.

Now, Holiday will take his talents to the Bucks, but where does he fit with their current roster?