Ex-Pelicans Star Jrue Holiday Thriving in 2026 NBA Playoffs Against All Odds

The NBA playoffs are where players solidify their greatness in this league, and former New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday is continuing to do so for the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite being the oldest player on the team (he’s older than Damian Lillard by one month), Holiday has been the most consistent player on the court for the young Blazers roster.

Besides Holiday, Portland is only playing one other player, Jerami Grant, who is older than 30, and Holiday’s consistency is keeping the Blazers with a pulse in this series.

While the San Antonio Spurs are leading the best-of-seven series 3-1 after their 114-93 comeback victory on Sunday, Holiday continues to prove his worth in the league.

Through four games, the former first-round pick is averaging 18.5 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game, all higher numbers than what he averaged in the regular season. Portland’s best player, Deni Avdija, has struggled some this series, averaging fewer points, rebounds, and assists than he did in the regular season.

Despite many people criticizing the Blazers' move to acquire Holiday, his stellar play is a major reason the Blazers are in the postseason to begin with.

Jrue Holiday puts the Blazers ahead in the final minute 🤯pic.twitter.com/WkijBUHLAB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 22, 2026

This year was the team’s first playoff appearance since the 2020-2021 NBA season, when they lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets. Many predicted the Blazers would miss the postseason again this year, with a young, inexperienced roster trying to build chemistry.

The splashiest acquisition was the Blazers re-acquiring franchise great Damian Lillard after signing the guard to a three-year, $42 million contract last offseason. Lillard was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks and would miss the entire season after suffering an Achilles tendon tear, leaving the opportunity open for the Blazers to have a bad season and acquire a top draft pick in the upcoming draft.

Instead, the Blazers traded one of their young players, Anfernee Simons, to the Boston Celtics in a one-on-one trade to acquire the veteran Holiday. The move seemed counterintuitive to building a young roster around the eventual return of Lillard, but Holiday’s presence has had a great impact on the young Portland roster.

No greater example can be seen than in the development of guard Scoot Henderson, who had a breakout Game 2 against the Spurs, scoring 31 points in the Blazers' victory. Despite missing a significant part of the season with a hamstring injury, the young guard is slowly developing nicely in Portland.

Portland has also been on the other end of Holiday’s playoff prowess. As a member of the Pelicans, he and Anthony Davis led a surprising sweep of the Blazers during the 2018 playoffs.

The 3 vs 6 matchup was considered a lopsided affair with a prime Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum headlining the star-studded Blazers backcourt. However, it was Holiday’s dynamic play that stole the show in that series. The former two-time NBA champion averaged 27.8 points, 6.5 assists, and 1.3 steals in the sweep, hounding both McCollum and Lillard all four games. The series victory was only the Pelicans’ second in franchise history and was a catalyst for the Bucks' willingness to trade for Holiday a couple of seasons later, when they won an NBA championship during the 2020-2021 season.

In all, Holiday played 415 games as a member of the Pelicans and became a crowd favorite for his tenacity on the court and philanthropy off of it. He’s brought that same mindset to the Blazers this season.

Jrue Holiday turns 35 years old today.

To celebrate, let’s watch some of his best work from when the #Pelicans swept the Blazers in Round 1 of the 2018 playoffs. 🤩

pic.twitter.com/9vS8XDFX2x
— Pelicans Lead (@PelicansLead) June 12, 2025

The Blazers will have an interesting choice in the immediate future for Holiday, who has two years remaining on his current deal, with the last year a player option worth $37 million. Lillard is expected to return next season, and Portland has to be happy with the development of their young guard, Henderson. Will Portland roll the dice with a backcourt consisting of two 36-year-olds next season in Lillard and Holiday, or will they want their young guard to get more playing time?

For now, the Blazers will look to keep their season alive when they travel back to San Antonio for Game 5. No doubt, if Portland wants to extend this series, they will have to rely on the veteran Holiday to keep elevating his game for the remainder of the playoffs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google