Jon Robert Holden facts for kids
| Detroit Pistons | |||||||||||
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| Front office executive | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | August 10, 1976 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Nationality | American / Russian | ||||||||||
| High school |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| College | Bucknell (1994–1998) | ||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1998 / Undrafted | ||||||||||
| Pro career | 1998–2011 | ||||||||||
| League | NBA | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | ASK Brocēni | ||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Telindus Oostende | ||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | AEK | ||||||||||
| 2002–2011 | CSKA Moscow | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Jon Robert "J.R." Holden (Russian: Джон Ро́берт Хо́лден; born August 10, 1976) is an American-Russian former professional basketball player. He now works as a basketball executive for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before this, he was the director of player personnel for the Brooklyn Nets.
Holden was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is 1.85 meters (6 feet 1 inch) tall. He could play as both a point guard (who leads the team's offense) and a shooting guard (who focuses on scoring). He mostly played as a point guard.
While playing for CSKA Moscow, J.R. Holden won two EuroLeague titles. These big wins happened in 2006 and 2008. He also reached the EuroLeague Final Four (the championship tournament) eight times in a row. This is a record he shares with his former teammate, Theo Papaloukas. Because he played so well for many years in European basketball, he was chosen for the EuroLeague 2000–2010 All-Decade Team.
He also played for the senior men's Russian national basketball team. He helped Russia win the FIBA EuroBasket title in 2007. This was Russia's first-ever gold medal in that tournament.
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Early Life and High School Basketball
J.R. Holden played basketball in high school at two different schools. He attended Wilkinsburg High School in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. He also played at Linsly School in Wheeling, West Virginia.
College Basketball Journey
After finishing high school, Holden went on to play NCAA Division I college basketball. He played for Bucknell University with the Bucknell Bison team. He was a college player from 1994 to 1998.
Playing Professional Basketball in Europe
After graduating from Bucknell, Holden got an exciting offer. A basketball club called ASK/Brocēni/LMT from Riga, Latvia, wanted him to join their team. They offered him $3,000 a month. He said yes, and this started his long and very successful career playing basketball in Europe.
Holden played for teams in several countries:
- In the Latvian League for ASK/Brocēni/LMT (1998–1999).
- In the Belgian League for Telindus Oostende (1999–2001).
- In the Greek Basket League for AEK Athens (2001–2002).
- In the Russian Superleague A for CSKA Moscow (2002–2011).
He won national championships in each of these countries. In 2003, the website Eurobasket.com named him the Russian Superleague A Player of the Year.
Winning EuroLeague Championships
J.R. Holden won the biggest European club basketball title, the EuroLeague, two times with CSKA Moscow. These victories were in the 2005–06 and 2007–08 seasons.
In October 2006, Holden played for CSKA Moscow against the Philadelphia 76ers. This was an exhibition game in Cologne, Germany. It was part of a special event called EA Sports NBA Europe Live 2006.
Playing for the Russian National Team
One of Holden's greatest achievements was in the FIBA EuroBasket 2007 final game. He played against the Spanish team. With only 2 seconds left in the game, he scored the winning shot! This amazing shot gave Russia the championship title. He also played for the Russian team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics men's basketball tournament.
After Playing: A Career in Basketball Management
After he stopped playing professional basketball, J.R. Holden became a scout. A scout finds new talented players for teams. He worked as a scout for the NBA's Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers.
He is currently the Director of Player Personnel for the Brooklyn Nets. This means he helps manage the team's players and makes decisions about who joins the team.
J.R. Holden's Personal Life
On October 20, 2003, J.R. Holden became a Russian citizen. This happened because President Vladimir Putin signed a special order. This decision was made because new rules in the Russian Basketball Federation limited how many foreign players, especially Americans, could be on Russian League teams.
To help CSKA Moscow, the team's CEO, Sergei Kushchenko, thought of the idea for Holden to get Russian citizenship. The mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov, and the Russian State Sports Committee both supported this idea. Holden now has dual citizenship, meaning he is a citizen of both America and Russia.
In an interview in September 2012, Holden said that Dušan Ivković is one of the best basketball coaches ever.
Jon is married to Aireka Holden. They live in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and have a daughter and a son.
Awards and Achievements
J.R. Holden has won many awards and championships throughout his career:
Club Championships
- Latvian League Champion: (1999)
- Belgian League Champion: (2001)
- Belgian Cup Winner: (2001)
- Greek League Champion: (2002)
- 9× Russian Championship Champion: (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
- 4× Russian Cup Winner: (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010)
- 2× EuroLeague Champion: (2006, 2008)
Russian National Team Achievements
- FIBA EuroBasket
Gold
- (2007)
Individual Awards
- Greek League All-Star: (2002)
- Eurobasket.com website's Russian Super League Player of the Year: (2003)
- EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer: (2009)
- VTB United League Final Four MVP: (2010)
- EuroLeague 2000–2010 All-Decade Team: (2010)
See also
In Spanish: Jon Robert Holden para niños
