Jrue Holidays 33-point, nine assist outburst in Game 2 of the New Orleans Pelicans Eastern Conference opening-round playoff win against the formidable Portland Trail Blazers means so much to that city, but its a blip on his personal radar of priorities, inspirations and triumphs.
Holidays performance put his young squad up 2-0 in the series with a playoff masterpiece that’s merely an extension of his upward trajectory after overcoming so many heart-wrenching personal challenges.
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JRUE. HOLIDAY. RACK. ATTACK. #DoItBigger https://t.co/nUPPRUGLI4
The test of a true champion is measured in how much you will sacrifice in the face of adversity. At one point, Holiday was ready to give up his NBA career to nurse his family through turbulent waters.
Pregnant Soccer Star Lauren Holiday Battles Brain Tumor
Dr. Jennifer Ashton stops by “Good Morning America” to discuss the retired athlete who’s facing a benign tumor while pregnant, with the support of her basketball star husband Jrue Holiday.
Jrues wife Lauren Holiday is a retired professional soccer player and two-time Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. women’s national soccer team. She was diagnosed with a benign tumor called a meningioma in late June after experiencing severe headaches. An MRI showed the tumor was located on the right side of her brain, near her eye socket. As if that wasnt enough stress, at the time, she was six months pregnant and couldn’t have the surgery until after the baby was delivered.
It rocked the family. Holiday’s departure came just as he was starting to cook again in the league following two injury-plagued seasons in which he only played 74 games. He averaged six assists and 16.8 ppg and his presence would be surely missed by the Pelicans.
Jrue Holiday Pelicans 2015 Season Highlights
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“My family comes before basketball,” Holiday said at the time. “I’m obviously blessed to play this game and be in the position I am in, but my wife is the most important thing in the world to me. She comes before anything else.”
Jrue Holiday’s Unconditional Family Love
Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans explains why his wife and newborn daughter mean so much to him.
Holidays faith and his dedication to securing the wellbeing of his family paid off. The tumor was operable and not a threat to the Holidays’ unborn daughter. After successful surgery, doctors were confident Lauren would return to full health and her recovery has been an inspiration to thousands of people.
Yahoo Sports NBA on Twitter
In 2016, Jrue Holiday took a break from the game after his pregnant wife, USWNT star Lauren Holiday, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He recently opened up to @ShamsCharania about the harrowing experience: https://t.co/gL87CdtKyC
Jrue Holiday on Lauren: “She’s obviously a fighter, the toughest woman I know. That’s the reason why I married her.”
In July of 2017, Holiday signed a 5-year, $125 million deal with the Pelicans amidst some media and fan objections and suggestions that he wasn’t worth the cheddar.
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Forget his controversial $125 million deal. Jrue Holiday emerged as the Pelicans’ hero in Game 2 https://t.co/20oiu3AUCd
More blessings.
After three months at home caring for his family, Lauren gave Jrue the greenlight to return to NBA action and he’s been a better player ever since. It was a tough journey as Lauren described in a moving Instagram post.
In an interview with legendary NBA reporter Shaun Powell, Jrue says Im blessed, man. Blessed to have my family back, blessed that were OK. So blessed for the support from especially the team. I cant even explain how much they were there for me and my family through everything. Anything we needed, they provided for us. Players came down, coaches came down. The fans, so many prayers and supporters. Unbelievable.
Obviously you dont know what goes on while youre in it. Its stressful. Im excited to be back. This team was there for me and my family. A lot of people were. I just cant put it on one group of people. So many showed faith and support.
The final blessing has come in the form of Holidays best season of his nine-year career. He averaged career highs in points per game (19.0) and shooting percentage (.494). Overcoming the challenges he faced with his family has obviously inspired a focus and next level determination that we haven’t seen in Holiday who’s averaging 27.0 ppg and shooting 54.5 % from the field in the 2018 NBA playoffs.
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Jrue Holiday is RUTHLESS. https://t.co/LQtVg8tosq
Hes faced the worst and handled it with dignity, now the blessings are flowing in for him as hes joined forces with Anthony Davis to lift the Pelicans to seven wins in a row dating back to the regular season and 22 wins in their last 30 games. Talk about getting hot at the right time. Not surprising for a guy who has nowhere to go but up.
