Rajon Rondo made his mark on both ends of the court plenty of times in his NBA career. Since being selected 21st overall in the 2006 NBA Draft, Rondo played 16 seasons in the league.
That career will not extend any longer. Rondo announced on the ALL THE SMOKE podcast that he has officially retired. The 38-year-old last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season.
Rajon Rondo officially announces his retirement on @allthesmokeprod
✊🏾🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SY3jDjYwhL
— Stace 💜💛 (@DSTacey1913) April 2, 2024
2-Time NBA Champion Officially Announces Retirement
Rondo Won Titles With Both the Celtics and Lakers
Rondo owns two championship rings which came more than a decade apart. He was a member of the 2008 Boston Celtics team that dispatched the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. In 2020, his Lakers beat the Miami Heat during the postseason that took place in the bubble. Rondo also played in the 2010 NBA Finals with Boston with the team falling in a rematch to the Lakers.
That 2008 Boston championship took place in just Rondo’s second season. The Lakers championship season was in the midst of his 14th year in the league. He started all 26 games for the Celtics in the playoffs during that title run. While he didn’t start any of his 16 playoff appearances for the Lakers in 2020, he still averaged playing more than half the game (24.7 minutes per game).
A Marvelous Career For Rondo
On top of winning two championships, Rondo received numerous accolades and honors during his wonderful playing career. The six-foot-one point guard was named to four-straight All-Star teams spanning from 2010-13. He was named to the All-NBA Third Team for the 2011-12 season. For four straight seasons (2008-09 until 2011-12), Rondo made an All-Defensive team. He finished top-ten in MVP voting twice.
A wizard with the basketball, Rondo led the league in assists three times. In 2009-10, his 2.3 steals per contest led the league. Rondo’s 7,584 career assists rank him 15th in NBA history while his 1,518 career steals are the 49th-most. When it comes to the playoffs, he has the seventh-most postseason assists and the 24th-most steals.
In 957 career regular season games (733 starts), Rondo posted averages of 9.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.6 steals. All of those averages were even higher in his 134 playoff appearances. On top of playing with the Celtics and Lakers, Rondo also donned the jerseys of the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks, and Los Angeles Clippers.
Rajon Rondo’s Basketball Reference page lists his Hall of Fame chances at 60.6%.
