LOS ANGELES – The shock of her husband’s unexpected trade from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Portland Trail Blazers sparked a widely read social media post from Lauren Holiday. The abrupt change before the start of training camp affected the entire family. Days later when two-time NBA All-Star Jrue Holiday was traded again to the Boston Celtics, Lauren Holiday did find two silver linings: Her husband playing for another title contender and a Christmas Day game back home in the Los Angeles-area.
It was a memorable homecoming as Jrue Holiday had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists during a 126-115 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas afternoon, then spent the evening at his home about an hour away.
“Playing on Christmas Day and being home is a plus,” Jrue Holiday told Andscape after the game. “The next thing after that is winning. Growing up a Laker fan, it is kind of weird that I am in this green. It’s definitely a surprise and a pleasant one. I woke up at home opening presents and then I got here for the game.”
Jrue Holiday was the Bucks’ starting point guard when they won the 2021 NBA championship and made his second All-Star appearance in 2023. Through three seasons with the Bucks, his wife and two children fell in love with Milwaukee and Holiday had hopes of retiring with the franchise.
But on Sept. 27, just days before most NBA training camps began, the Bucks acquired seven-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers in a multi-player trade which included Holiday. Holiday was then re-routed to the Celtics on Oct. 1 and his family moved with him.
After the first trade, an Instagram post by Lauren Holiday gave insight into what an NBA player and his family go through after a trade.
“I’m not sharing this to say we are entitled to anything,” Lauren Holiday wrote. “I’m sharing this to say we are human beings whose kids develop friendships with other kids in our community, we are people who value family and friendship and invest in the cities we play in. We don’t just take from the city we play in; we give to the city we play in and we give our all.”
Looking back on her social media comments now, both Lauren and Jrue Holiday have no regrets and are still very proud of her words.
“I just wrote how I felt in the moment,” Lauren Holiday told Andscape. “That was more for me than anyone else. I got an overwhelming amount of support. I even meet people who say, ‘Oh my gosh, I love what you wrote.’ Old teammates [in soccer] wrote me the same: ‘We feel you wholeheartedly.’ Some people have opinions like, ‘Ya’ll are rich. You can move wherever. Why are you complaining?’
“For me, all that matters is I said what I felt. It gives another perspective of what athletes go through.”
Said Jrue Holiday: “[I] Took it for what it was. She did a great job writing it. Spoke from the heart and was vulnerable… Having a wife and partner who can articulate that is special.”
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images
So far, it has all worked out for the best, as the Holidays love living in Boston and being part of the Celtics family. Lauren Holiday said it has been a “seamless transition” thanks to the help from the Celtics.
“Kids are so resilient,” she said. “They didn’t miss a beat. My daughter knocked on our neighbors’ doors when she found out they had kids the same age as her. They love the school that they’re going to. For Jrue, it is taking a little bit of time to find his role and feel comfortable completely to add value to a team that is so successful. I’m probably last in line. But the organization has made it super easy. And the guys have made it easy for Jrue. Same with the women in the staff for me.”
Jrue Holiday believes playing for the Celtics gives him the best opportunity to win a title. Three seasons removed from going to the Finals, Holiday could be right, as the Celtics own an NBA-best 23-6 record with a talented foursome that includes himself, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis.
“We can play small and big,” Holiday said. “We have great bench players who come in and change the game at any time and can start on other teams. And we have a hunger, JT [Tatum] and JB [Brown] have been a good tandem for a long time and made to Finals. They have hunger to win a championship. Al Horford has also always been an anchor. They give me a best chance to win.”
Once the Jrue Holiday-to-Boston trade was done, his wife and agent Jason Glushon looked over the 2023-24 schedule together. To their pleasant surprise, the Celtics were slated to play on the road in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Christmas.
That was music to the ears of the Holidays, whose main home is 51 miles west of Los Angeles in the small town of Santa Rosa Valley. They have 10 acres of land with plenty of avocados and tangerines to enjoy (the Holidays actually sell avocados, too). Jrue Holiday has played in Miami and Denver in two Christmas games with the New Orleans Pelicans, and two in Milwaukee while playing for the Bucks. Whether Jrue Holiday is on the road or home for Christmas, the Holidays are always together as a family. But Christmas 2023 was the first time that they were truly home in his career.
Born in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth on June 12, 1990, Jrue Holiday grew up with two NBA teams in his backyard in the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers and also played collegiately at UCLA. The Holiday brothers — Justin, Jrue and Aaron — are all current NBA players with the Denver Nuggets, Celtics and Houston Rockets, respectively. The brothers grew up watching games on Christmas, most notably the Lakers starring the late Kobe Bryant.
While Jrue and the Celtics played the Lakers on this Christmas, Aaron was off and Justin’s Nuggets defeated the visiting Golden State Warriors.
“Playing on Christmas is an honor. Being in a game where kids get to wake [up] and the family gets to gather around the television all day to see games as a tradition is an honor,” Jrue Holiday said.
Chris Pizzello/AP Photo
The Holidays met at UCLA where Jrue was a star basketball player and Lauren was a standout soccer player. Lauren, a FIFA Women’s World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist with the United States women’s national team, is from Indianapolis, but Jrue was pretty adamant about making the Los Angeles-area their home.
“Jrue is a Cali boy through and through,” Lauren Holiday said. “Every time he gets off the plane in California, it doesn’t matter if its Northern or Southern California, he says, ‘The sun just hits different here.’ I loved my time at UCLA and love my time in California, so it just seems to be the best fit. We’re family people so we stay close to his family. I hope my family moves out here. California just hits us the best.”
The Celtics arrived in Los Angeles on Dec. 21 after defeating the host Sacramento Kings on Dec. 20. Boston routed the Clippers on Dec. 23 before playing the Lakers. Instead of staying at the Celtics’ team hotel in Beverly Hills, Holiday stayed primarily with his family at their home.
The Holidays hoped to have the Celtics come by as a team for dinner on Thursday, but floods from heavy rains last week canceled hopes of having an outdoor party. The rain, however, didn’t stop the Holiday children and their mother from swimming in their heated pool. Mom also made a point to get In-N-Out Burger, a California staple.
“This is the first time [we’ve] spent Christmas with our kids in California and the first time for me,” Lauren Holiday said. “Being home with family has been huge for us. It’s been exciting. I put up Christmas lights before we got there and made sure there was a Christmas tree up. My kids were excited when they got home. It felt like we were coming back to something that felt lived in.”
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Lauren Holiday
The Holiday home was also buzzing on Sunday as they hosted a pre-Christmas party for about 40 family members and friends. Jrue and a family member won in spades. He said his brother-in-law, Devin Fuller, made a delicious sweet potato pie and a cinnamon roll cake. Presents for all were passed around. And for the main course, there was a taco truck outside the Holiday home.
“Who doesn’t want to have a California Christmas?” Jrue Holiday said. “I haven’t been able to spend Christmas in California for years, but this time I was able to spend time at home with family. We had family come over with my cousins and kids. We had a little Christmas Eve party. Lot of games. Food. Lot of conversation…
“The taco truck was clutch. There was a lot of leftovers.”
Said Lauren Holiday: “We had to go get all the games beforehand. It gets pretty competitive in our house.”
On Christmas morning, Jrue was able to play “Santa” and pass out presents to his children before heading to downtown Los Angeles for the 2 p.m. PT game. Holiday was able to visit with his children before the game and also had a suite at the Crypto.com Arena to accommodate all his family and friends in attendance.
Most Celtics players and their family members at the game flew back to Boston on Sunday evening. But Jrue Holiday opted to stay an extra night back at home before flying back to Boston on Tuesday. Once he got home after a big Christmas win, the taco truck leftovers were waiting.
“It felt great to be home with your kids,” Jrue Holiday said. “They were excited to open presents at home after Santa came on Christmas morning. Sleeping in your own bed is everything.
“I understand what my parents enjoyed now on Christmas. As a kid you wake your parents up after Santa came, you open presents and your parents are there to see it.”
