Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (born June 26, 1991) 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 who last played for the Taipei Mars of the T1 League. 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 ...

with the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

and has experience playing professionally in Luxembourg and Finland.

High school career

Hollis-Jefferson played high school basketball at Chester High School in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. In his junior season, he averaged 10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game and lifted the Clippers to a win over Norristown High School to claim the PIAA Class AAAA state title. In the championship game, he faced Khalif Wyatt, his future

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

college teammate. ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' named Hollis-Jefferson second team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania as well. As a senior, he averaged 17.6 points and 10.0 rebounds, recording 25

double-doubles In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in just 29 games.

College career

Hollis-Jefferson played

with the

from 2009 to 2013. As a junior, he averaged 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He improved those numbers to 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as a senior.

Professional career

After leaving Temple, Hollis-Jefferson signed his first professional contract with

AB Contern Amis du Basket-Ball Contern is a semi professional basketball club from Contern, Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and nort ...

of the

Total League The Nationale 1 Hommes, officially named the Luxembourg Basketball League (LBBL), is the highest men's basketball league in Luxembourg. The league's governing body is Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Basketball (FLBB). In 2014, Hollis-Jefferson returned to his home country to play for the

Delaware 87ers Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state' ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. However, he received limited playing time. On October 13, 2015, Hollis-Jefferson signed with the

Saint John Mill Rats The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division ...

of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchis ...

(NBL). However, he would never play a game for the team. In 2016, Hollis-Jefferson signed with the

Orangeville A's The Orangeville A's were a Canadian professional basketball franchise based in Orangeville, Ontario. Founded in 2012 in Brampton, the A's were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada, where they began play for the season. History ...

for the

(NBL). At the end of the season, Hollis-Jefferson was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the league. In October 2017, Hollis-Jefferson was drafted by the

Northern Arizona Suns The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play as the Long ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. On August 14, 2018, he signed with Kataja BC of the Finnish league. For the 2019–20 season, Hollis-Jefferson was signed by the Memphis Hustle. He was waived on January 14, 2020, but was re-acquired by the Hustle two days later after Matt Mooney received a call-up. Hollis-Jefferson averaged 6.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He signed with Kataja on November 24, 2021. On December 14, 2023, he signed with the

TNT Tropang Giga The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fra ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA) to replace Quincy Miller as one of the team's import for its participation in the 2023–24 East Asia Super League. He teamed up with his brother Rondae who is the other import for the team. However, Rahlir replaced his brother Rondae as the team's import for the 2023–24 PBA Commissioner's Cup due to the latter's injury. On February 6, 2024, Hollis-Jefferson signed with the Taipei Mars of the T1 League. On May 4, Hollis-Jefferson had suffered the

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

rupture during the semifinals series game 1, and he would miss the remainder of the 2023–24 season. On December 23, Hollis-Jefferson returned to the

Taipei Taishin Mars The Taipei Taishin Mars ( zh, 臺北台新戰神) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Taipei City. They have competed in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) and play their home games at the Taipei Heping Basketball ...

of the

Taiwan Professional Basketball League The Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL, zh, 台灣職業籃球大聯盟) is a professional basketball List of basketball leagues, league in Taiwan composed of 7 teams. It is the fourth Taiwanese professional basketball league after the ...

(TPBL). On March 16, 2025, the general manager of the

announced that Hollis-Jefferson left the team.

Personal life

Rahlir is the older brother of fellow basketball player

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Rondae Jaquan Hollis-Jefferson (born January 3, 1995) is an American naturalized Jordanian professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). After playing college basketball for the Arizona Wi ...

. His uncle, Karim Alexander, was murdered on August 5, 2008, and it was never solved.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis-Jefferson, Rahlir 1991 births Living people AB Contern players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Luxembourg American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Basketball players from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Chester High School alumni Delaware 87ers players Kataja BC players Memphis Hustle players Northern Arizona Suns players Orangeville A's players OSE Lions players Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards Sportspeople from Chester, Pennsylvania Temple Owls men's basketball players TNT Tropang 5G players Taipei Mars players T1 League imports 21st-century American sportsmen