Aaron Shawn Holiday (born September 30, 1996) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, where he earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

recognition. He was selected by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in the first round of the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

with the 23rd overall pick. Holiday played in high school in Los Angeles, where he was ranked among the top players nationally. He was a starter as a college freshman in 2015–16 before becoming the Bruins' leading

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

the following year. As a junior, he returned to the starting lineup as the Bruins'

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

, when he was named a third-team All-American and received first-team all-conference and all-defensive honors in the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

. He played three seasons for Indiana before being traded to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

and later to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. Holiday is the younger brother of the current NBA player

Jrue Holiday Jrue Randall Holiday ( ; born June 12, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins before being selecte ...

, and former NBA player

Justin Holiday Justin Alaric Holiday (born April 5, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies. He went u ...

Early life

Holiday was born in

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...

, to Shawn and Toya (née DeCree) Holiday. His parents both played college basketball at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

, where Toya was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1982. Holiday attended high school at Campbell Hall in Los Angeles, where he was a four-year starter. As a freshman, he led the team in scoring, averaging 24.3

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

per game. He averaged 28.9 points, 8.5

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 6.0 assists as a junior before being named both

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...

IV-A and ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...

'' Player of the Year honors. Holiday improved as a facilitator as a senior, when his scoring dropped, but his passing enabled other teammates to emerge as scoring threats. Averaging 25 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals, he led Campbell Hall to its first sectional and California regional final since 2008, and shared ''Daily News'' Player of the Year honors with Bennie Boatwright of Valley Christian. Holiday was rated a four-star

college recruit In college athletics in the United States, recruiting is the process in which college coaches add prospective student athletes to their roster each off-season. This process typically culminates in a coach extending an athletic scholarship offer t ...

as one of the top prep players in the nation, ranked No. 40 by Scout.com, No. 60 by Rivals.com, and No. 88 by

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

College career

Freshman season

Holiday entered the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, with a reputation as a tenacious defender capable of applying full-court pressure. After an exhibition game against the

Bruins Bruin, (from Dutch for "brown"), is an English folk term for brown bear. Bruin, Bruins or BRUIN may also refer to: Places * Lake Bruin, ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in northeastern Louisiana ** Lake Bruin State Park * Bruin, K ...

Cal State Los Angeles Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

coach Dieter Horton admired his ability to disrupt, calling him a "little

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii''; palawa kani: ''purinina'') is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now con ...

on defense". Holiday and fellow recruit Prince Ali brought needed depth to UCLA, who were thin at guard during the previous season. In Holiday, Bruins' third-year coach

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball, Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). ...

possessed the most natural

he had had at the school. He hoped the freshman could help ease ball-handling duties from incumbent point guard

Bryce Alford Bryce Michael Alford (born January 18, 1995) is an American former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He set school records fo ...

, the coach's son, who was more effective catching the ball and shooting. In a scrimmage against

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

which Bryce Alford mostly missed due to an injury, Holiday's performance against a strong Aztecs defense prompted their coach, Steve Fisher, to call him "by far the best player on the floor". UCLA opened the 2015–16 season with Holiday as starter, along with Alford and Isaac Hamilton, in a three-guard lineup. Hamilton could also play point guard, but Holiday and Alford shared most of the responsibilities. In the season opener, Holiday and

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket, LDLC ASVEL of the LNB Élite and the EuroLeague. The son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career ...

had six turnovers apiece as UCLA turned the ball over 23 times in an 84–81 overtime loss to

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

. On December 3, 2015, Holiday had 10 points, seven assists, and eight rebounds in an 87–77 upset over No. 1

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, the Bruins' first win over a top-ranked opponent since

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. On January 9, 2016, he made the go-ahead

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

with just over a minute remaining in an 81–74 win over

, which helped UCLA avoid falling to 1–3 in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

for the first time in almost 20 years. However, the Bruins lost their final five games of the season to finish with a 15–17 record. Holiday started all 32 games during the season, averaging 10.3 points while leading the team in both steals (1.4) and three-point field goal percentage (41.9), which also ranked sixth in the Pac-12. He was second on the team in assists (4.0). His 127 assists were the fifth-highest freshman total in school history, and the most by a UCLA freshman since his brother Jrue had 129 in 2008–09.

Sophomore season

In 2016–17, Holiday was moved to the bench and became the Bruins'

sixth man The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starting lineup, starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in, and the first to be used against the other team's subst ...

as star freshman point guard

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earni ...

joined seniors Alford and Hamilton in the starting lineup. Despite a drop in playing time from his freshman season, Holiday had a better season by comparison. He did not complain about his new role, and thrived while continuing to receive starter-like playing time as the Bruins frequently used a four-guard lineup. On December 3, 2016, he scored 13 points and had four assists to lead No. 11 UCLA to a 97–92 road win over No. 1 Kentucky, ending the Wildcats' 42-game home winning streak. He led the team in scoring in the first half, when he made all four of his shot attempts and scored all of his 13 points as the Bruins built a 49–45 lead. His performance amidst Ball's struggles early in the game was lauded by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ''

'', and ''

NBCSports.com NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock. The division is officially owned a ...

'' for changing the course of the game. UCLA earned a No. 3 seed in the

2017 NCAA tournament Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number) * One of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017, 2117 Science * Chlorine, a halogen in the periodic table * 17 Thetis, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American maga ...

. With Ball slowed by a hip injury in their opening game against

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

, Holiday had 15 points and a career-high 11 assists off the bench to help the Bruins win 97–80. The Bruins ended the season 31–5 after losing in the Sweet 16 to Kentucky. For the season, Holiday averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 assists in over 26 minutes per game, and he received honorable mention for the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Although he was not listed in most

mock draft Mock draft is a term used by sports websites and magazines in reference to a simulation of a sports league draft (sports), draft or fantasy sports league's draft. ESPN has run mock drafts on the front page of its website, allowing any visitor to ...

s, he declared for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

. Later, he withdrew his name from the draft to retain his college eligibility.

Junior season

Holiday assumed the starting point guard role in the 2017–18 season after Ball was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. UCLA lost four starters from the previous year, leaving Holiday as the team's leading returning scorer. He and five-star freshman recruit

Jaylen Hands Jaylen Joseph Hands (born February 12, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Varese of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. As a high school senior in 2017, he was selecte ...

gave the Bruins two fast guards capable of handling the ball, and they were expected to play alongside each other as well as share point guard duties. Against

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the

CBE Hall of Fame Classic The Hall of Fame Classic (formerly known as the Guardians Classic, CBE Classic, CBE Hall of Fame Classic and Hall of Fame Classic) created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) is an annual season-opening college basketball tourn ...

, Holiday made a layup with 0.8 seconds left in the game to give UCLA a 72–70 win. On December 9, 2017, he had then-career highs of 27 points and seven turnovers as UCLA had 20 turnovers and blew a 15-point, second-half lead in a 78–69 overtime loss to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. On December 23, Holiday had 20 points and eight assists to offset another seven turnovers in an 83–75 upset over No. 7 Kentucky. The performance helped him earn Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. On December 29 in UCLA's conference opener, Holiday scored 23 of the Bruins' first 32 points, including 15 straight, and finished with a career-high 33 points in a 96–82 win over

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. He added 11 rebounds and four assists and did not commit a turnover while playing all 40 minutes. He was the first UCLA player to have at least 33 points and 11 rebounds in a game since

Ed O'Bannon Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. (born August 14, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward (basketball), power forward for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Br ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. On February 15, 2018, Holiday scored 17 points and had a season-high 10 assists in a 75–68 win over

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

. The next contest in their final home game of the season, the Bruins won 86–78 in overtime against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

behind Holiday's 29 points and six assists. UCLA blew a double-digit lead in the second half when the Ducks went on a 13–0 run after Holiday went to the bench in foul trouble. Coach Alford stated that Holiday's value was underscored by the team's

plus–minus Plus–minus, ±, +/−, or variants may refer to: * Plus–minus sign (±), a mathematical symbol which can mean either plus (+) or minus (−), or can indicate the uncertainty of a measurement or statistic * Plus–minus (sports), a sport ...

when he is out of the game, and he called his star guard a candidate for Pac-12 Player of the Year. After leading the Bruins' sweep of the Oregon schools, Holiday was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time. In the regular-season finale, Holiday scored the team's final nine points and finished with a career-high 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting with seven assists in an 87–72 victory over

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, completing a season sweep in their crosstown rivalry and clinching a bye and the No. 4 seed for the Bruins in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for a third time, which led the conference. In UCLA's Pac-12 Tournament opener, Holiday scored 34 points for the second consecutive game and added eight assists and seven rebounds to lead an 88–77 win over

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. He played all 40 minutes of the game for the fourth time in five contests. The Bruins qualified for the 2018 NCAA tournament, but lost 65–58 to

St. Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he also serv ...

in the First Four for the Bonnies' first tournament win in 48 years. Holiday scored 20 points and committed a career-high 10 turnovers, but also led a defense that limited

Jaylen Adams Jaylen Tairique Adams (born May 4, 1996) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Al Ahli Tripoli of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He played college basketball for the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, earning co- Atlantic ...

to eight points on 2-for-16 shooting. Holiday finished the season averaging a Pac-12 leading 20.3 points per game and ranked second with 5.8 assists while playing in a conference-high 37.7 minutes per game. He was the school's first player to average at least 20 points since O'Bannon in 1994–95, and the first to lead the conference in scoring since

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

in 1985–86. He also became the second Bruin to average at least 19 points and five assists, joining

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American basketball player and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. He played college basketball, collegiately for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins an ...

in 1973–74. Holiday was voted third-team

by the ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'', and was also named first-team All-Pac-12. Regularly assigned to defend the opponent's top guard, he earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors. After the season, Holiday decided to forgo his senior year at UCLA and declare for the NBA draft, where he was projected to be as high as a mid-to-late first-round selection.

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2018–2021)

Holiday was selected by the

in the first round of the

with the 23rd overall pick, and signed a three-year contract worth $6,496,800. Entering the 2018–19 season, Indiana coach

Nate McMillan Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to ...

figured it would be difficult for him to receive consistent playing time behind veteran point guards

Darren Collison Darren Michael Collison (born August 23, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Collison played four seasons of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He earned All-Pa ...

and

Cory Joseph Cory Ephram Joseph (born August 20, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the point guard position and was previously the captain of the Ca ...

, while

Tyreke Evans Tyreke Jamir Evans (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Broncos de Caracas of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). After playing college basketball for the Memphis Tigers men's ...

and

Victor Oladipo Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo ( ; born May 4, 1992) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a sports analyst for ESPN. Oladipo play ...

were capable of handling the ball and running the point as well. On November 17, 2018, Holiday scored 12 points and made three 3-pointers in 15 minutes to lead a 97–89 comeback win over the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. He had a team-high nine points in the fourth quarter in a game which the Pacers played mostly without their leading-scorer Oladipo. Holiday had not played in the previous nine games, and had logged just 16 minutes all season. "We don't win this game if he doesn't come in and play this game the way he did at both ends of the floor," McMillan said. With Oladipo out the following game, Holiday scored 19 points and had seven rebounds in 21 minutes in a 121–94 win over the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. Oladipo missed 11 games before returning, during which Holiday averaged 8.0 points on 42.9 percent shooting, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 16.6 minutes. The Pacers went back to their earlier rotation without Holiday, but he returned in the end of January 2019 after Oladipo suffered a season-ending right knee injury. On February 5 against the

, he scored 17 points while shooting 7-of-10, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, as the Pacers won 136–94 to hand

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

the most lopsided loss (42 points) of his career. However, Holiday fell out of the rotation again after Indiana acquired guard

Wesley Matthews Wesley Joel Matthews Jr. (born October 14, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles. He i ...

later in the month. Holiday appeared in 50 games during the regular season, averaging 5.9 points while making 40 percent of his field goals, including 34 percent on 3-pointers. He played sparingly in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, when the Pacers were swept 4–0 in the first round by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. During the offseason, Holiday was joined on the Pacers by his older brother

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

, who signed a one-year contract as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. On December 28, 2019, Holiday scored a career-high 25 points in a 120–98 loss to the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. On December 28 against

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, he and brothers Justin and Jrue, a member of the Pelicans at the time, became the first trio of brothers to share an NBA court simultaneously. In late January 2020, Holiday fell out of the rotation after Oladipo recovered from his knee injury and made his season debut; T. J. McConnell had supplanted Holiday as the backup to starter

Malcolm Brogdon Malcolm Moses Adams Brogdon (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Virginia Cavaliers und ...

. However, Holiday worked better with the starting unit, and he started 33 starts when the team dealt with injuries. Prior to the start of the 2020–21 season, the Pacers exercised their fourth-year option on Holiday's rookie contract for $3.9 million. Under new head coach

Nate Bjorkgren Nate Bjorkgren (; born June 20, 1975) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of South Da ...

, his playing time decreased before the NBA All-Star break. The team was using McConnell more at point guard, and

Edmond Sumner Edmond Byron Sumner (born December 31, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for the Xavier Musket ...

was also cutting into Holiday's time at

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

. Holiday missed the last four games of the regular season with an injured big toe, but returned for the play-in games. He averaged 7.2 points for the season and made 36.8% of his 3-pointers, both drop-offs off from his second season.

Washington Wizards (2021–2022)

On August 6, 2021, Holiday and the rights to draft pick

Isaiah Todd Isaiah Todd (born October 17, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for Kaohsiung Steelers of the P. League+. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best power forwards in the 2020 class. A former Michigan commit, To ...

were traded from Indiana to the

in a multi-player, five-team deal. Against his former team on October 23, he started in place of an injured

Bradley Beal Bradley Emmanuel Beal Sr. (born June 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators before being selected by the Wa ...

and scored seven points in 25 minutes in an overtime win against the Pacers. Holiday's playing time decreased as the season progressed, although he did start the last four games leading up to the season's trade deadline.

Phoenix Suns (2022)

On February 10, 2022, Holiday was traded to the

for cash considerations and a trade exception. At the time, he was averaging 6.1 points and 1.9 assists per game for Washington, while shooting a career-high 47% on his field goals. He averaged 6.8 points per game in 22 games for the Suns.

Atlanta Hawks (2022–2023)

Holiday signed with the

for the 2022–23 season, which reunited him with his former Pacers coach Nate McMillan as well as his brother Justin. McMillan was fired midseason, replaced by

Quin Snyder Quin Price Snyder (born October 30, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After being named a McDonald's All American as a high school player i ...

, and Justin was traded as well. In the playoffs, Holiday was not in the team's rotation, as the Hawks lost to the Celtics in the opening round.

Houston Rockets (2023–present)

On July 10, 2023, Holiday signed with the

. On July 6, 2024, he re-signed with the Rockets.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 50 , , 0 , , 12.9 , , .401 , , .339 , , .820 , , 1.3 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 33 , , 24.5 , , .414 , , .394 , , .851 , , 2.4 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .2 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 8 , , 17.8 , , .390 , , .368 , , .819 , , 1.3 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 41 , , 14 , , 16.2 , , .467 , , .343 , , .800 , , 1.6 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 22 , , 1 , , 16.3 , , .411 , , .444 , , .939 , , 2.5 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .0 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 63 , , 6 , , 13.4 , , .418 , , .409 , , .844 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 78 , , 1 , , 16.3 , , .446 , , .387 , , .921 , , 1.6 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 3 , , 12.8 , , .436 , , .395 , , .829 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 447 , , 66 , , 16.5 , , .421 , , .382 , , .851 , , 1.6 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 4.3 , , .400 , , .500 , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 2 , , 18.0 , , .571 , , .444 , , .600 , , 1.3 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 6 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .571 , , .714 , , .000 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , — , , — , , — , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .400 , , .400 , , .500 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 2 , , 8.0 , , .520 , , .522 , , .500 , , .6 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 32 , , 32 , , 31.7 , , .394 , , .419 , , .727 , , 3.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 0 , , 26.4 , , .485 , , .411 , , .793 , , 2.9 , , 4.4 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 37.7 , , .461 , , .429 , , .828 , , 3.7 , , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 20.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 101 , , 65 , , 31.8 , , .450 , , .422 , , .795 , , 3.2 , , 4.7 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 14.3

Personal life

Holiday is the youngest of four children, all of whom became basketball players. His brothers

and Jrue are also NBA players, and sister Lauren played on the Bruins women's basketball team. Additionally, Holiday is a brother-in-law of U.S. women's national soccer team player

Lauren Holiday Lauren Cheney Holiday (born Lauren Nicole Cheney; September 30, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder and forward for the United States women's national soccer team from 2007 to 2015. She is a two-t ...

(née Cheney). On May 14, 2020, Holiday married Ashli Scott and together they have three children, with a step-daughter from Ashli's previous relationship with NBA player Solomon Hill.

Notes

References

External links

*
UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holiday, Aaron 1996 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Los Angeles Campbell Hall School alumni Houston Rockets players Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Phoenix Suns players Point guards Sportspeople from Ruston, Louisiana UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Washington Wizards players 21st-century American sportsmen