<p id=”par-1_63″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/celebrity-athletes/?swcfpc=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>CJ McCollum</a> was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 10th pick in the 2013 <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/sports/?swcfpc=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>NBA</a> Draft. He played with the team until 2022 when he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. After three seasons in the Big Easy, he was traded again to the Washington Wizards. Then on Jan. 9, 2026, CJ and Corey Kispert were traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Trae Young. </p>
<p id=”par-2_28″>One woman who has been by his side through each <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/sports/?swcfpc=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>jersey change</a> and every new city is his wife, Elise. Here’s more about her and their family. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-long-cj-and-elise-have-been-together-and-why-their-wedding-was-put-on-hold”>How long CJ and Elise have been together and why their wedding was put on hold</h2>
<p id=”par-3_52″>CJ met then-Elise Esposito in 2012 when they were both students at Lehigh University. They began dating for years and in 2018, CJ popped the question. The two became engaged and by 2020 had decided on when and where they were going to get married, but things didn’t go as planned. </p>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/CG75uEIlk7f/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/CG75uEIlk7f/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a><p style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/CG75uEIlk7f/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>A post shared by Elise McCollum, D.D.S. (@elisespo)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-4_29″>With everything scheduled from the Sept. 5 date to the venue in Brooklyn and the more than 200 guests, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit and changed all that. </p>
<p id=”par-5_59″>“Ensuring our family and friends remained healthy was most important to us,” Elise told <a href=”https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/cj-mccollum-elise-esposito-oregon-wedding” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Vogue</a>. “I don’t think we would be able to live with ourselves if someone became sick as a result of attending our wedding. Needless to say, given the state restrictions, having the wedding or anything close to it was not going to be an option.” </p>
<p id=”par-6_91″>She added that they also had to decide on a different date that worked with NBA’s bubble period and cut down the guest significantly from 250 to 20 just, explaining, “[We] changed the location to Oregon wine country, since we both love wine and enjoy exploring the region. We decided the best time would be at the end of October, as his season would likely resume in December and November would be used for training … The scenery was stunning, and they had exactly enough rooms to accommodate our 20 guests.” </p>
<p id=”par-7_7″>They tied the knot on Oct. 27, 2020. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-elise-is-a-dentist”>Elise is a dentist </h2>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BmTpwDkHWzn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BmTpwDkHWzn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a><p style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BmTpwDkHWzn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>A post shared by Elise McCollum, D.D.S. (@elisespo)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-8_35″>Elise was born on July 5, 1991, to parents Kathleen and Michael Esposito. She grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Michael worked as dentist in the town of Stroudsburg and Elise attended Bethlehem Catholic High School.</p>
<p id=”par-9_27″>After graduation, she enrolled in Lehigh University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in behavioral science. She then received her master’s degree in Health Care Systems. </p>
<p id=”par-10_27″>Elise decided that she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and from there attended Columbia University of Dental Medicine. Today she works as a pediatric dentist.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-many-children-they-have”>How many children they have </h2>
<p id=”par-11_8″>CJ and Elise have two children together. </p>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DSi1tr3EVl2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DSi1tr3EVl2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a><p style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DSi1tr3EVl2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>A post shared by Elise McCollum, D.D.S. (@elisespo)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-12_25″>They welcomed their first child, a son named Jacobi James McCollum, on Jan. 10, 2022, followed by a daughter named Margaux McCollum, on Nov. 13, 2023. </p>
<p id=”par-13_23″>CJ mentioned his children during a press conference after he was labeled a “villain” by New York Knicks fans during the playoffs. <em> </em></p>
<p id=”par-14_44″>“I am no villain,” <a href=”https://x.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/2046432849557848091″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>he said</a>. “I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife. I think it’s admiration. Great passionate fans in a really hostile environment, it’s fun. It’s basketball. It’s the playoffs. If anything, I think it’s a sign of respect.”</p>
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