Rajon Rondo wasn’t the first – and likely won’t be the last – player who committed the ultimate sin of playing for both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Some did it by choice as free agents, some via trade.
Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Brian Shaw, Bob McAdoo, are some of the few players who had the honor of playing for the two winningest franchises in NBA history. And while some of them were able to win an NBA Championship with one or the other, none managed to win a ring with both.
But if the Los Angeles Lakers end up winning the NBA Championship this season, Rajon Rondo will be on a tier of his own, being the only player in NBA history to ever win a ring with both franchises.
Needless to say, this version of Rajon Rondo has been far from what we saw during his stint with the Celtics, a team he played a major role in 2 trips to the NBA Finals and the 2008 NBA Championship.
Even so, Rondo’s defense, playmaking, and inexplicably shooting improvement in the playoffs have come pretty handily for the purple-and-gold this season. While some fans may never like him, there’s just no denying that he steps up big time when it matters the most.
Rajon Rondo was a huge fan favorite at the TD Garden during his stint with the Boston Celtics. Now, there’s still a chance that the Lakers and Celtics have to face off in basketball’s ultimate stage. Obviously, I don’t think many Celtics fans will be wearing Rondo’s jersey or rooting for him if that happens.
The Lakers have to finish the job vs. the hardnosed, resilient Denver Nuggets, while Boston needs to come back form a 3-2 deficit to beat Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, which is easier said than done.
