NEW ORLEANS - Jrue Holiday quickly admits that he did his growing up as a basketball player in Philadelphia. Taken with the 17th overall pick in 2009, Holiday had just turned 19 when he was taken after just one year at UCLA and quickly plugged into the starting lineup by then coach Eddie Jordan. It's even hard to for Holiday to believe he is already 26 and in his eighth year in the league.
The biggest maturation off the court for the Southern California native came this offseason when his wife, Lauren, a former member of the women's national soccer team, was diagnosed with a tumor on her brain while carrying the couple's first child.