{"id":12099,"date":"2017-01-16T20:47:53","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T02:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=12099"},"modified":"2017-01-16T21:00:52","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T03:00:52","slug":"rajon-pierre-rondo-is-a-2008-national-basketball-association-championship-winner-and-the-right-now-nba-all-star-guard-to-lead-any-team-to-the-playoffs-and-nba-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=12099","title":{"rendered":"RAJON PIERRE RONDO IS A 2008 NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER, AND “THE RIGHT NOW” NBA ALL STAR GUARD TO LEAD ANY TEAM TO THE PLAYOFFS, AND NBA CHAMPIONSHIP"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"220px-Rajon_Rondo_Media_Day\"\"rr-with-champion-cup-of-nba-2007-08-rajon-rondo-11592534-340-563\"Rajon Pierre Rondo (born February 22, 1986) is an American professional basketball<\/a> player for the Chicago Bulls<\/a> of the National Basketball Association<\/a> (NBA). He is a four-time NBA All-Star<\/a>, and a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team<\/a> member. He also led the NBA in steals<\/a> during the 2009\u201310 season<\/a>, and assists during the 2011\u201312<\/a>, 2012\u201313<\/a> and 2015\u201316<\/a> seasons. He began his professional career with the Boston Celtics<\/a>, winning an NBA championship<\/a> in 2008. He ranks fourth in Celtic history in assists, and third in steals. He briefly played for the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> during the 2014\u201315 season before joining the Sacramento Kings in 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rondo played two years of college basketball<\/a> for the Kentucky Wildcats<\/a> before he was drafted 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns<\/a> in the 2006 NBA draft<\/a>. He was subsequently traded to the Celtics where he played a supporting role during his rookie season. He established himself as the starting point guard for the Celtics during the 2007\u201308 season<\/a>, helping the franchise record their 17th NBA championship playing alongside All-Stars<\/a> Ray Allen<\/a>, Kevin Garnett<\/a> and Paul Pierce<\/a>. His breakout performance came during the 2009 NBA Playoffs<\/a>, where he averaged a near triple-double<\/a>, and helped his team take the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic<\/a> to seven games in the Conference Semifinals. Rondo is considered to be one of the premier triple-double<\/a> threats in the NBA. He ranks 12th in NBA history in career regular season triple-doubles (28), \u00a0and fourth in career playoff triple-doubles (10).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rondo was born on February 22, 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky<\/a>, to Amber Rondo. He has three siblings: Dymon, William and Anton. He had little contact with his father, who left his family when he was seven years old. To support the family, his mother worked the third shift at Philip Morris USA<\/a>, a tobacco company. Rondo was first interested in football<\/a>, before his mother steered him towards basketball because she felt that the sport would be less punishing on his skinny frame.\"200px-Rondo_at_the_Championship_parade\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

After Rondo became serious about basketball, he attended Louisville’s Eastern High School<\/a> for three years. During his junior year<\/a> at Eastern High School, he averaged 27.9 points<\/a>, 10.0 rebounds<\/a> and 7.5 assists<\/a> which earned him a spot on the All-State honors and was named the 7th Region Player of the Year. He transferred to Virginia’s Oak Hill Academy<\/a> for his senior year<\/a> where he averaged 21.0 points per game<\/a> (ppg), 3.0 rebounds per game<\/a> (rpg) and 12.0 assists per game<\/a> (apg) and finished the 2003\u201304 season with a 38\u20130 record. In his senior year<\/a> at Oak Hill Academy, Rondo broke Jeff McInnis<\/a>‘s single-season school record of 303 assists, while averaging a double-double<\/a>. There, he included two efforts of 27 assists and a single-game school record of 31, merely four away from the all-time national record. He also had a 55-point game in high-school<\/a>, second highest all-time in Oak Hill Academy, surpassed only by Calvin Duncan with 61. Rondo was named to the McDonald’s All-American Team<\/a> in 2004 and scored a total of 14 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the all-star game. He also participated in the 2004 Jordan Capital Classic game, logging 12 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. Rondo was also named a second-team Parade<\/i> All-American<\/a>. He ended his career as Oak Hill Academy’s all-time assists leader in a single season with 494 assists, surpassing McInnis.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rondo committed to Kentucky<\/a> over hometown Louisville<\/a>. Rondo, along with All-Americans<\/a> Joe Crawford<\/a> and Randolph Morris<\/a>, gave coach Tubby Smith<\/a> and Kentucky the top-rated recruiting class for 2004 according to Rivals.com<\/a>. Rondo led Kentucky to several wins including victories against the Louisville<\/a>, South Carolina<\/a> and Central Florida<\/a>, but Kentucky failed to advance to the Final Four<\/a> of the NCAA Tournament<\/a> in either Rondo’s freshman or sophomore seasons. He was named to the SEC<\/a> All-Freshmen Team. He set a Kentucky<\/a> record for most steals in single-season, with a total of 87 steals in his freshman year and made at least one steal in every game. He finished his freshman year at Kentucky averaging 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 steals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his sophomore<\/a> year he had a career high 12 assists against Ole Miss<\/a>, despite playing just 23 minutes, and 25 points against Louisville<\/a>. Rondo also set another Kentucky Wildcats<\/a> record for most rebounds in a game by a guard, with 19 rebounds in an early season loss to Iowa<\/a>. He was not known for being a shooter, however, going 18\u201366 from three with a 57.1% FT average. He averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game in his sophomore year. Rondo was also named to the 2005 USA Men’s Under-21 World Championship Team, which traveled to Argentina<\/a> for the FIBA<\/a> World Championships. He averaged 11.0 ppg and 4.5 apg in the eight-game tournament, garnering much attention from NBA scouts. The USA U-21 team won a gold medal at the Global Games held in Texas<\/a> in late July.\"Rajon-Rondo-rajon-rondo-18267177-1024-768\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the 2005\u201306 NCAA season, Rondo announced he would forgo his final two seasons at Kentucky and enter the NBA draft. Rondo was drafted 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns<\/a> in the 2006 NBA draft<\/a>. Phoenix then traded him to the Boston Celtics<\/a> along with Brian Grant<\/a> for the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>‘ first-round draft pick in the 2007 NBA draft<\/a> and cash considerations. \u00a0He was the first point guard<\/a> to be chosen in the draft. In another draft-day deal, the Celtics acquired Sebastian Telfair<\/a> from the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, finally uniting the backcourt Rick Pitino<\/a> had envisioned at Louisville. He was signed by the Boston Celtics on July 4, 2006.<\/strong><\/p>\n

During his rookie season<\/a> in the NBA, Rondo played a supporting role and would split time with Sebastian Telfair<\/a> and Delonte West<\/a>. Rondo only started in 25 games that season due to his initial backup role to Telfair. He made his NBA regular season debut on November 1, 2006, in a home loss against the New Orleans Hornets<\/a>. \u00a0In his rookie season, he lacked on his jump shot which resulted in him slashing<\/a> to the basket for a teardrop or layup. While coming off the bench, he managed to score a career-high 23 points against the Toronto Raptors, \u00a0and record his first career double-double<\/a> in a road losing effort against the Washington Wizards<\/a>. \u00a0In his first career start, he matched his career-high against the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>, though the line-ups were constantly being shuffled between Telfair and Rondo at the point guard. \u00a0After officially becoming a starter, he began to receive more playing time (career-high forty-seven minutes of playing time) and show improvement (career-high fourteen rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs<\/a>, and a career-high seven steals against the Indiana Pacers<\/a>). \u00a0As the mid-season approached, his numbers began to increase, \u00a0which earned him an NBA All-Rookie Second Team<\/a> selection. \u00a0He finished the season with an average of 6.4 ppg and 3.8 apg, \u00a0ranking in the top ten in the NBA in steals (128) \u00a0and also ranking in the top ten among rookies in several other categories, including first in steals, second in assists and sixth in minutes. \u00a0In the end, however, the Celtics finished the season with a 24\u201358 win-loss record and failed to qualify for the playoffs<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After Telfair and West were traded during the offseason of the 2007\u201308 season<\/a>, Rondo secured a spot in the starting lineup<\/a>, starting in every game. Surrounded by All-Stars<\/a> Kevin Garnett<\/a>, Paul Pierce<\/a> and Ray Allen<\/a>, he quickly became a steady, consistent player. \u00a0In his 77 games played, he averaged 10.6 points per game (ppg), 5.1 assists per game (apg) and 4.2 rebounds per game (rpg). His role as a playmaker reflected in him leading the team in assists and steals. In a game against the New Jersey Nets<\/a>, Rondo suffered a lower back injury late in the third quarter, forcing him to miss the next four games. \u00a0He made his successful return from injury and to the starting lineup in a road win against the New York Knicks<\/a>. \u00a0A week later, he matched his career-high against the Miami Heat<\/a>, \u00a0and then scored a career-high 24 points in a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> the following month. During the All-Star break, he was selected to play on the Sophomore Team in the T-Mobile<\/a> Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam<\/a>. Following the All-Star weekend, Rondo recorded a career-high 16 assists in a home victory against the Charlotte Bobcats. Despite his solid rookie year, there was much speculation about Boston needing a veteran point guard. \u00a0In March, they signed veteran point guard Sam Cassell<\/a> as a free agent<\/a> to serve as a backup. The Celtics’ best single-season improvement in NBA history earned them the number one seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.\"rondo_drive_basket_home_300350\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the regular season, Rondo finished in the top five for the NBA Most Improved Player<\/a> voting. \u00a0Rondo made his playoff debut on April 20, 2008 against the Atlanta Hawks and finished the game with 15 points, 9 assists and 2 steals. The Celtics closed out the series in seven games, went on to defeat Cleveland<\/a> in the next round, and then defeated the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals<\/a>. In the NBA Finals, facing the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, Rondo recorded two strong performances, including a career-high 16 assists in Game 2. In Game 3, however, Rondo left the court in the third quarter after rolling his ankle. The ankle injury was considered a “non-factor”, and Rondo eventually made his return in Game 4. \u00a0In Game 6, the point guard posted a playoffs career-high 6 steals as the Celtics defeated the Lakers 4\u20132, giving Rondo his first NBA championship ring<\/a>. After the game Lakers head coach Phil Jackson<\/a> called Rondo the “star” of Game 6.<\/strong><\/p>\n