With Rajon Rondo finding a new (but old) home with the Los Angeles Lakers, could it be that the 2006 draft pick’s purple and gold legacy could be one more synonymous with his career than his Boston Celtics legacy?
Rondo was a messy fit alongside LeBron James with the Lakers in his first season on board, but things ratcheted up when Anthony Davis joined the fold in the summer of 2019 and the former Kentucky Wildcats rekindled a previously successful pick-and-roll pair from their days in New Orleans.
A championship resulted, and in the wake of the rebirth of “Playoff Rondo“, the 35-year-old signed a two-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
Rondo was shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers midway through the season, but he took a backseat to Reggie Jackson and Pat Beverley during the team’s Western Conference finals run. Jackson resigning meant Rondo was once more on the trade block, and Memphis ended up being the destination in a deal that returned Eric Bledsoe.
The Grizzlies didn’t keep him. The Lakers then swooped in.
Now, Rondo rejoins a team that he exceled on two seasons ago that went out and added Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony to the fold. He’s not alone in returning to the team he became a championship role player on, as Dwight Howard re-signed as well this summer.
With two major glue guys back, the Lakers may just be the NBA title favorites once more. Remember, James and Davis were not healthy during the 2020-21 season and were hurting during their Western Conference quarterfinals series against the eventual west champion Phoenix Suns.
If L.A. wins another title, would the Lakers become the team Rondo’s career becomes synonymous with?
Unless Rondo becomes an All-Star again, he will always be a Boston Celtics legend first and foremost.
Rondo can win another three championships with the Lakers, but the sad truth is that Rondo was never truly the same after his ACL tear in 2013. That year’s championship contender was derailed, and never again was Rondo as integral to a winner.
He put up empty stats for a losing Sacramento Kings outfit, and was a solid hand on the Pelicans during their surprising 2018 postseason run.
But when he is being inducted into the Hall of Fame when it’s all said and done, the stories highlighting his utter dominance at his peak will include the 2007-08 NBA Championship run alongside the Big 3 and the video game stat lines he put up during the 2012 Eastern Conference finals series against the eventual champion Miami Heat.
It will be his Boston Celtics battles against LeBron James, not with him, that will define his NBA legacy.