10 NBA Players Who Took Huge Leaps This Season
Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans
When DeMarcus Cousins went down, the New Orleans Pelicans really needed another reliable scorer behind Anthony Davis, and Jrue Holiday stepped up. Most of the attention will go to Davis' MVP-level season as the reason for New Orleans' 14-game win improvement from last season to this one, but Holiday played an instrumental role as well.
It is weird to see him on this list in his ninth year in the league, but Jrue made noticable improvements to his offensive game this season, averaging a career-best 19 points per game on nearly 50% shooting. He also played over 70 games for the first time since his days with the Philadelphia 76ers, which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he ranked fifth in minutes played this season.
| Jrue Holiday | nERD | PPG | FG% | TS% | PER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | -1.7 | 15.4 | 45.40% | 53.20% | 17.1 |
| 2018 | 1.9 | 19 | 49.40% | 52.70% | 17.8 |
Fun Fact: Among qualified guards, only Ben Simmons and Lillard held their opponents to a lower field goal percentage than Holiday. His opponents shot just 42.8% from the floor against him.
