Rajon Rondo made his return to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. Rondo spent 2 seasons in LA between 2018 and 2020 and helped significantly in their 2020 NBA championship run.
Rondo left the Lakers last year in order to secure what could be his last big contract in the NBA. Rondo signed a 2-year, $15 million contract with the Atlanta Hawks, but was traded on the deadline to the Lakers’ rivals, the LA Clippers.
The objective was to bring Rondo in and have him replicate his leadership from the 2020 Lakers’ championship run. But personality clashes with key stars like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard led to Rondo sitting on the bench for most of their playoff games.
Rondo was subsequently traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in the offseason, and they agreed to a buyout of Rondo’s contract, which allowed him to become a free agent again. In free agency, Rondo made the decision to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, as they rebuild their roster to make a run for the championship.
Rondo was recently asked in an interview what he thinks of Anthony Davis and the work he has done in the offseason (5:32 mark). Rondo marveled at how much bigger Davis was looking, nothing that he had done work to bulk up during the offseason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PAdq9KplBI
“I haven’t seen anything, other than how big he is (laughs). I think he’s been doing like 18 pushups a night.”
Rondo is clearly enjoying his time back with LA, and he even got ’emotional’ learning that AD and LeBron missed him last season. Rondo and AD will be hoping to resurrect their combination from their last season playing together.
Having played together in both LA and New Orleans, the duo has a solid understanding among themselves and will look to continue that going forward.
Rondo had a very good relationship with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He and Davis showed their solid connection during the 2019-20 NBA season, as Rondo would regularly throw lobs for AD to finish at the rim. If he and AD can pick up where they left off, the Lakers will be the beneficiaries.
