Jon Robert "J.R." Holden (; born August 10, 1976) is an American-Russian former 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 and current basketball executive who is serving as a front office executive of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in 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 was previously the director of player personal of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

. Holden was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. At tall, he could play at both the

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 ...

and

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 ...

positions, but he primarily played at point guard. As a member of

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

, Holden won two

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

titles, in 2006 and 2008. Moreover, he reached eight consecutive

EuroLeague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, fo ...

tournaments, a record he shares with his former CSKA teammate,

Theo Papaloukas Theodoros Papaloukas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπαλουκάς; born 8 May 1977), commonly known as Theo Papaloukas or Thodoris Papaloukas, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. He was a four-time All-EuroLeague selection, a mem ...

. His consistency at the highest level of European basketball earned him a selection to the

EuroLeague 2000–2010 All-Decade Team The EuroLeague 2000–2010 All-Decade Team consisted of 10 basketball players that were awarded and named to the EuroLeague's All-Decade Team, in recognition of the first 10 years of the league's competition, after coming under the control of th ...

. He was also a member of the senior men's

Russian national basketball team The Russia men's national basketball team () represents Russia in international basketball competition. They are organized and run by the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF). The team came into existence after the dissolution of the Soviet Uni ...

, which he helped lead to the

FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

title in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Russia's first ever gold medal in the tournament.

High school

Holden attended and played high school basketball

Wilkinsburg High School The Wilkinsburg School District is a small, urban public school district serving the mostly African American Municipality of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses approximately . According to 2000 federal census data, it served a ...

, in

Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania Wilkinsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough has a population of 14,349 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wilkinsburg is part of the Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh ...

, and at

Linsly School The Linsly School, formerly known as the Linsly Military Institute, is a boarding and day school located in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded in 1814 by Noah Linsly and chartered by the State of Virginia in the same year. The school is the ...

, in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

College career

After high school, Holden played

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

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 ...

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

, with the

Bucknell Bison The Bucknell Bison are the athletic teams that represent Bucknell University. The program is a member of the Patriot League for most NCAA Division I sports and Division I FCS in football. List of sports History The Bucknell Bison are the a ...

, from 1994 to 1998.

Professional career

After graduation from Bucknell, Holden received a call from the basketball club

ASK/Brocēni/LMT ASK/Brocēni/LMT was a professional basketball team that was located in Riga, Latvia that existed from 1992 to 2001. For most of its duration it was named after its main sponsor, the Brocēni Cement and Roofing Slate Factory. The club played ...

, located in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, offering him $3,000

net income In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

a month to join their team. He accepted, and began a long and very successful career in European basketball.Former Bison Hoops Star J.R. Holden Thriving in Russia :: Standout point guard given Russian citizenship.
Holden played for teams in: the Latvian League (

1998–99), the

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

( Telindus Oostende 1999–01), the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

(

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

2001–02) and the Russian Superleague A (

2002–2011). He won national championships in each country. He was named the 2003 Russian Superleague A Player of the Year by the website

Eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com, also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provides coverage of every professional and semi-professional club basketball league from around the world, as well as many amateur level lea ...

. He also earned an Import Players Honorable Mention in the 2002

website's All-Europe Rankings. Holden won the

EuroLeague 2005–06 The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

and the

EuroLeague 2007–08 The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

season championships with CSKA. Holden started for

against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in an exhibition game in October 2006, in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, as part of the

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

NBA Europe Live 2006 promotional event.

National team career

Holden's biggest achievement came in the

FIBA EuroBasket 2007 The 2007 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2007, was the 35th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2008 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to th ...

final game against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where with 2 seconds left in the game he scored the winning shot that gave

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

the championship. He was also named to the Russian squad for the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

men's basketball tournament.

Post-playing career

After he retired from playing professional basketball, Holden became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

, for the

NBA 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 ...

and the

. He is currently the Director of Player Personnel for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA.

Personal life

On October 20, 2003, Holden became a Russian

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

by decree of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. This move was brought about by new

Russian Basketball Federation Russian Basketball Federation (), also known as RBF, is a national governing body of basketball in Russia. It was founded in 1991, and is the successor to the Soviet Basketball Federation. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA banned R ...

regulations restricting the number of foreigners, and specifically Americans allowable on Russian League teams. In response to the move, CSKA Basketball CEO Sergei Kushchenko hatched the idea of Holden acquiring citizenship.

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

mayor

Yury Luzhkov Yury Mikhailovich Luzhkov ( rus, Юрий Михайлович Лужков, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ lʊˈʂkof; 1936 – 10 December 2019) was a Russian politician who served as mayor of Moscow from 1992 to 2010. Before the elect ...

and the Russian State Sports Committee both wrote letters in support of the decree. Holden currently maintains dual American and Russian citizenship. In a September 2012 interview Holden stated that

Dušan Ivković Dušan "Duda" Ivković ( sr-Cyrl, Душан "Дуда" Ивковић; 29 October 1943 – 16 September 2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He served as head coach of the senior Serbian national basketball team from 2 ...

is one of the best coaches ever.MVP.rs JR Holden za MVP: Želeo sam da igram za Partizan.
/ref> Jon is married to Aireka Holden. They reside in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They have a daughter and son.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 19 , , 35.7 , , .362 , , .302 , , .616 , , 2.4 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , , , , 17.2 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="9",

, 22 , , 20 , , 33.4 , , .395 , , .356 , , .638 , , 2.2 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , , , 15.5 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , 22 , , 22 , , 33.3 , , .393 , , .312 , , .563 , , 2.3 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 14.2 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , 24 , , 24 , , 31.0 , , .363 , , .297 , , .847 , , 2.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , , , 11.3 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2005–06† , 24 , , 23 , , 31.3 , , .416 , , .336 , , .642 , , 1.6 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , , , 11.4 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 25 , , 22 , , 29.9 , , .433 , , .366 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , , , 10.0 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2007–08† , style="background:#CFECEC;", 25* , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 25* , , 28.4 , , .376 , , .367 , , .741 , , 2.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 7.7 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 16 , , 15 , , 29.4 , , .393 , , .380 , , .792 , , 2.0 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , , , 7.9 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 21 , , 5 , , 30.9 , , .352 , , .358 , , .905 , , 1.8 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 10.3 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 10 , , 8 , , 29.7 , , .264 , , .295 , , .500 , , 1.9 , , 3.4 , , .5 , , , , 6.4 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 209 , , 183 , , 31.4 , , .381 , , .335 , , .674 , , 2.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 11.4 , , 9.0

Awards and Accomplishments

Clubs

* Latvian League Champion: (1999) *

Champion: (2001) *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

Winner: (2001) * Greek League All-Star: (2002) * Greek League Champion: (2002) *9× Russian Championship Champion: (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) *4× Russian Cup Winner: (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010) *2×

Champion: (2006, 2008)

Russian senior national team

: (

)

Individual awards

website's

Russian Super League The Russian Superleague (, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second-best league in the world, after the Nation ...

Player of the Year: (2003) *

EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer The EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer is the individual EuroLeague awards, award for the player that gained the highest point (basketball), points in the EuroLeague Finals, the championship finals of the European professional club basketball system, E ...

: (2009) *

VTB United League Final Four MVP The VTB United League Final Four MVP is an annual award that is given to the best player of the final four of the VTB United League competition. The award has been given out since the league began. Previously, the award was also known as the VTB Un ...

: (2010) *

: (2010) *(2025 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame International Basketball Nominee)

References

External links

Euroleague.net Profile

FIBA Archive Profile

Russian League Profile

CSKA Club Profile

n°54 on ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch" {{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Jon Robert 1976 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen AEK B.C. players American emigrants to Russia American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Latvia American expatriate basketball people in Russia American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Pittsburgh BC Oostende players Bucknell Bison men's basketball players FIBA EuroBasket–winning players Greek Basket League players Naturalised basketball players Naturalized citizens of Russia Olympic basketball players for Russia PBC CSKA Moscow players Point guards Russian men's basketball players Russian people of African-American descent Shooting guards 21st-century American sportsmen