Suns 'Fun Facts': Aaron Holiday grew up in house full of trophies
Greg MooreAaron Holiday’s parents have a garage full of trophies.
His mom and dad, Toya and Shawn, played basketball at Arizona State. Aaron, his brother, Jrue, and sister, Lauren, played at UCLA, and another brother, Justin, played at Washington.
Lauren’s career was cut short due to injuries, but Aaron once told WBUR.org that she was probably the best of the Holiday kids. Aaron, the youngest, and his older brothers made history in 2019 when all three participated in the same NBA game.
The Republic continues its “Fun Facts” series with the Phoenix Suns with Holiday, the sparkplug guard, whose defensive energy off the bench is undeniable.
Name: Aaron Holiday
Position: Point guard
Age: 25
NBA season: Fourth
Twitter:@The_4th_Holiday
Instagram:the_4th_Holiday
Fun fact: “Everybody’s got trophies lying around somewhere.”
Q: A lot of players on this team come from basketball families, but none moreso than you. Your mom and dad both played at ASU. So who was better? Mom? Or Dad?
A: I don’t know, my dad would say my mom, for sure. But I didn’t see either one of them play that much. (Aaron was born in 1996. His mother, Toya, was Pac-10 player of the year in 1982. His dad, Shawn, played 26 games off the bench for the Sun Devils that season.)
Q: Does your family have a big trophy case?
A: There are trophies everywhere. They’re mostly in the garage, in storage. They’re not really out like that, as you would think. But I’ve seen a lot of trophies.
Q: What is on display? Is it your mom and dad’s stuff that’s out?
A: I’ve seen some of their trophies. My brothers’ trophies. My sister’s trophies. Mine. But you’d have to really dig through it to find out who’s is who’s. I think everybody’s got some trophies lying around somewhere.
Q: Did all that basketball success in one house put pressure on you?
A: I didn’t really care that much, honestly. A trophy is a trophy. Obviously, winning the NBA championship is something special. But I just felt like back then, when I was younger, a trophy was a trophy. Everybody gets one. It didn’t really put any pressure on me.
Q: Your parents both played at Arizona State. Did coming to the Valley mean anything special to you? Or did they tell you about what it might have meant to them?
A: They talked to me about what it meant for them. But for me, it wasn’t anything special. We used to come out here and play at Arizona and ASU all the time. I always wanted to win when I came out here, that’s for sure.
Q: Any trash talk from mom and dad? “Back in my day, I would have …”
A: (Laughs) You always get that, for sure. … We have 82 games and then playoffs. That’s gonna come in every so often.
More Suns 'Fun Facts': Devin Booker | Chris Paul | Bismack Biyombo | Elfrid Payton | Cam Payne | Torrey Craig | Deandre Ayton | Mikal Bridges | JaVale McGee
Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.
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