Jrue Holiday Wins NBA Championship With Milwaukee
Former UCLA guard Jrue Holiday totaled 12 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks win the 2021 NBA Finals at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday evening.
Milwaukee defeated the Phoenix Suns, 105-98, after having trailed in the best-of-seven game series, two games to none.
Holiday became the 22nd former UCLA player to be a part of an NBA Championship team. Including multiple championships (from former players), these 22 former UCLA players have been responsible for 35 total NBA championships.
Holiday becomes the fourth former UCLA player in the last five seasons to have won the NBA Finals. In 2017, Kevon Looney and Matt Barnes helped the Golden State Warriors win the championship. Looney was also part of the 2018 Golden State squad that won the NBA Finals. In 2019, Norman Powell was part of the Toronto Raptors' NBA championship team.
UCLA's totals include six former players who have won at least two NBA titles – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Jamaal Wilkes (4), Willie Naulls (3), Bill Walton (2), Jordan Farmar (2) and Kevon Looney (2).
Holiday averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game during the regular season with Milwaukee. He has averaged at least 10.0 points per game in all but one of his NBA seasons (his rookie year, 2009-10).
In the NBA Finals (six games), Holiday 16.7 points, 9.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds. He finished just one rebound shy of a triple-double in Game 6 on Tuesday and also registered four steals.
Holiday played a vital role in Milwaukee's Game 5 victory on Sunday, July 18. He finished that game with 27 points and 13 assists and helped preserve a one-point lead with a steal and ensuing assist in the game's final 20 seconds.
A freshman at UCLA in 2008-09, Holiday was the No. 17 NBA Draft selection by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2009. While in Westwood, he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 35 games (35 starts). That season, the Bruins went 26-9 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's second round.