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Oh No He Didn't: Mike Conley: "Whenever I think of Boston, I think of a winner, a winning culture. Since I was a kid, it's been that way. Since I was in the league, I was a part of the league when KG and them guys won, and Rondo and them, and obviously their last one they won a few years ago. You just think of that immediately. Like PG said, when you walk into the building, there's a sense, there's an atmosphere, there's something that's just a little bit different. You find yourself in there two, three hours, not realizing you've been in there working that much, and just a part of the culture. I think that's initially what I think when I see the Celtics"
Patrick Beverley: "I signed a three-year $40 million contract with the Clippers. I turned down a three-year $50 million with Sacramento just to stay with the Clippers. For me to be there, all the great guards they've had, I was part of that starting five that helped the Clippers go to the first time ever Western Conference Finals. They've had great guards. They've had James Harden, they had Russell Westbrook, they have Chris Paul, they've had Rajon Rondo. They had a plethora of point guards that just can never help them get over the hump, but I was part of that starting five that helped them finally, first time ever, and they haven't been back since, get to the Western Conference Finals."
Rajon Rondo: "Brilliant move. He’s arguably the young best point guard in the game. I think he averaged 30 points a game this year. LeBron James is the king on the chessboard. He has all the right pieces to make the right moves. We all know he is a great basketball mind, one of the greatest basketball minds to play the game. If you give him these type of pieces to play with, I am an early bet with them being the favorites to win in my book."
Rajon Rondo: "Other teams that they don't fit. No disrespect to anybody but obviously Golden State, they are too old. LeBron James would have had to play too much, it would have been too much on his plate. To me, Miami doesn't have enough shooting at all, so they won't be difficult to kind of get with in the playoffs. And then, what was the other team? I guess Cleveland maybe? So, no, I don't see that. That's not a good fit. Him, James, and Donovan, no, that's not a good fit. But Maxey, who always plays without the ball, the way that he can shoot the basketball, Anfernee Simons, like we mentioned, we mentioned RJ, one of my favorite underrated guards in the league coming off the bench. I mean, it is going to be crazy. And let's not talk about the man in charge, Nick Nurse."
What do you think of your coaching tree that includes Tyronn Lue and Tom Thibodeau? Doc Rivers: I love it. It’s growing. Ty [Lue], I just couldn’t be prouder of. The guy that is not a part of the tree yet, but I think Rajon Rondo is going to be one hell of a coach. He’s the smartest human being I’ve ever coached, and he works at it. He was with me all this [past season in Milwaukee]. Now he’s a savant — and that doesn’t go well at times, because he sees [the game differently].” We talk about it all the time. “You were a hell of a point guard, too, coach.” “Yeah, I was a good point guard. I wasn’t a hell of a point guard. I was a solid point guard.” And he’s like, “Coach, you were plus-10. You see it, and they don’t. How do you handle that?” I said, “You breathe, because you learn patience.” And that’s what he’s going to have to work on. But he will get that.
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Louisville native and former University of Kentucky and NBA star Rajon Rondo has been selected for the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2026. Rondo, a four-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion, headlines a class that also includes world-class sprinter Tyson Gay of Lexington, longtime women's basketball official Lisa Mattingly of Lebanon and former National League Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb of Ashland.
This year marks the first time since 2006 that the camp has run. Some of the top players in high school competed over three days in front of NBA scouts and executives from all 30 teams. There were also some NBA legacy kids in attendance like Pierre Rondo (Rajon Rondo) and RJ Evans (Reggie Evans). Rajon was like any typical dad, taking pictures and videos on his phone of Pierre during drills and scrimmages. RJ Evans is one of the top players in the 2029 high school class and was a top performer of the camp, coming off a strong AAU season on the adidas 3SSB circuit. “I’ve heard the stories of this camp growing up, and it’s just cool to come out here and be included in the first one back in 20 years,” Evans said. “I’m one of the younger guys here, so I just want to go out and cook and show that I’m one of the best players in the country.”
Mikel Brown Jr.: "I really didn't have a favorite player. If you would say that I had a favorite player growing up, I was a big Bron guy just because he's the greatest. Besides Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is my GOAT in my book. But yeah, I mean, I learned from all the guards and all the greats. You too, obviously. Like you guys, I can learn a lot from. Your footwork. I think both of you all have tremendous footwork. So trying to take that away from you all. Then you go to the guards. I was a big Steve Nash guy growing up. Big Rajon Rondo guy and a big CP3 guy growing up."
Mikel Brown Jr.: “I don't think he [Rajon Rondo] gets enough credit. And I was fortunate enough to have him as a mentor this year. He was in Louisville, invited me to his crib and we watched some film together. Played a little bit of chess.I got to pick his brain a lot this year. Watch film with him… You know, people view him as very smart, which he is very smart, but he just like to me, he just broke the game down in just such a simple way.”
And even though he is now a veteran in the league in his own right, he still views James and Rondo from those years as the most influential teammates he’s ever had. “I’d say probably Bron or Rondo,” Kuzma said in an appearance on the White Noise podcast. “[LeBron] got so much money that you just see a certain type of life that is maybe not attainable because not everybody can be a billionaire, but it’s like a North Star to you. Like this guy’s got a lot of motion and there’s other things off the court where it’s like, I actually can do more and you just gotta put your mind to it. “And then Rondo because he’s just so sophisticated, so smart basketball-wise. He’s like a savant, it like made you wanna pick up your acumen. He would call sometimes after a game at like 3 a.m., ‘Yo, what you doing?’ Like ‘I’m in bed.’ He’s like ‘Yo, turn the game on, go to 8:10 in the third quarter. What are you thinking here?’ And that’s like motivating, you know?”
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Shamit Dua: There really hasn't been any updates for the Pelicans search at the moment. The team is still evaluating and to my understanding the 5 names under consideration at this moment in time are: Borrego Ham Hetzel Mosley Rondo
According to sources close to the search, Borrego is one of the four candidates who have emerged as the front runners to land the job. He joins a list that includes Rajon Rondo, Steve Hetzel and Darvin Ham. The best guess here is Rondo and Hetzel are at the top of the list.
“I know I can do it now,” Rondo told The Athletic in March when asked if he thought he was ready to be a head coach. “I have the discipline, preparation and, obviously, it’s about having the right people around you. I feel like I know who I am, and I know the people I can trust in this business for the most part. “I’ve had a lot of great mentors, a lot of people rooting for me. I definitely think I’ll be ready to go.”
