Holiday brothers become first trio to play in same NBA game, and at same time

It was a special moment Saturday night in New Orleans when the Pelicans hosted the Indiana Pacers and all three Holiday brothers — Jrue, Justin and Aaron — not only played in the game, but were on the court together during one point in the second half.

The game was the first time in NBA history that a trio of brothers appeared together in a game.

Jrue is a veteran starter for New Orleans while Aaron recently became a starting guard for Indiana. Justin is a reserve wing for the Pacers. Each brother saw action in the first half and then all three were on the court when Justin entered the game with 4 minutes 54 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Holiday brothers are from the Los Angeles area, having played at North Hollywood Campbell Hall High. Jrue and Aaron played at UCLA while Justin went to Washington.

Jrue had 20 points and seven assists as the Pelicans claimed a 120-98 victory. Aaron had a game-high 25 points while Justin did not score.

There have been many sets of brothers to play in the NBA, including against each other and at other times alongside one another.

It has been rare for three or more brothers to make it to the league, though, and at the same time.

The Jones brothers (4) and Russell brothers (3) were the first sets of three or more to make it to the NBA, beginning in the 1970s. Then the Barry brothers played in the 1990s and early 2000s, and overlapped for a brief period.

The Joneses never overlapped more than three brothers at a time, with Wil playing from 1970 to ‘78, Caldwell from 1974 to ‘90, Major from 1980 to ’85 and Charles from 1983 to ’98. The Russell brothers had a shorter window of time, with Frank playing only the 1972-73 season, while Campy (1975-85) and Walker (1983-88) overlapped two seasons.

The Barry brothers overlapped only two seasons as well. Jon played from 1993 to 2006, Brent from 1995 to 2009 and Drew from 1998 to 2000.

Staff writer Dan Loumena contributed to this report.