When the Los Angeles Lakers signed veteran point guard Rajon Rondo in the summer of 2018, some questioned the move. Rondo was thought to be over the hill at the time, and he had a reputation as someone who had a prickly personality and wasn't easy for teammates to get along with.
But he ended up becoming a key performer when the Lakers won the NBA championship during the 2019-20 season. Coming off the bench, Rondo was a much-needed second ball-handler and facilitator alongside LeBron James, and he consistently created pace and set up his teammates.
Some felt that Rondo and James' bullheaded personalities would clash. But as he said during a recent appearance on "The Draymond Green Show," Rondo decided to stay in his lane and not get in James' way.
“I knew my role at the time. We’re two alphas, but at the same time, I pride myself on being a star role player,” Rondo said. “So, for me, I fell in line. I knew what it was. It was no ego beating the chest, it was I’m going to have an opinion, which he always respected along with the coaching staff. So it was always just a hell of a lot of respect we had for each other. Nobody takes care of their body like him. He’s arguably the greatest player of all time, he was very disciplined. He goes over and beyond what the average, or even some of the great NBA players have done.”
Rondo averaged 8.1 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 25 minutes a game during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons as a member of the Lakers. During the 2020 postseason, he put up 8.9 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 24.7 minutes a game, and he even made 40% of his 3-point attempts during that playoff run.
He is one of only two players who have won championships with both the Lakers and the Boston Celtics. He won his title with Boston in 2008 against, ironically enough, the Lakers.
Rondo later returned to the Lakers for the 2021-22 season before they traded him in the middle of that campaign to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Rajon Rondo on how he was able to thrive with LeBron James on Lakers
