Rajon Rondo Officially Retires After 16 NBA Seasons
Rajon Rondo has officially retired from the NBA after 16 seasons, he announced this week.
“I’m done,” he said on this week’s All the Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. “I’d rather spend time with my kids.”
Rondo last played 39 games in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 17.9 minutes per game, shooting 38.6 percent from the floor, 35.2 percent from 3-point range (2.3 3PA, 50.0 3PAr) and 73.1 percent from the free-throw line.
Rondo, 38, was drafted No. 21 by the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA Draft, but was traded to the Boston Celtics on draft night alongside Boris Diaw and a 2008 first-round pick in exchange for Joe Johnson. He spent his first eight-and-a-half seasons with the Celtics, also spending time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers.
“What a time, it was definitely something that I never took for granted when I was in the game,” Rondo said. “I loved every minute of it, and I appreciate the brotherhood that I was able to share and bond and grow with over the years. I’ve learned so much in this game and it’s made me the man who I am today. … I tell people all the time, this wasn’t a dream of mine, it was a goal. I was able to lock in, stay disciplined, I didn’t party a lot in college. But it was worth the sacrifice of me getting to where I wanted to be in life.”
He was one of the best pure point guards of his generation, finishing as a two-time champion in 2007-08 and 2019-20, in addition to a four-time All-Star, a three-time assist champ and a one-time third-team All-NBA honoree in 2011-12. He was also a four-time All-Defensive team honoree and a one-time steals champion in 2009-10, averaging 2.3 steals.
In 957 games, Rondo averaged 9.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.6 steals on 45.6 percent shooting and 50.1 percent true shooting. He didn’t develop a 3-point shot until the end of his career, where the game was more modernized with spacing, but Rondo impacted the game in myriad ways throughout his career. He was also known for raising his performance in the playoffs–nicknamed “Playoff Rondo.” In 134 career playoff games, he tallied 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals on 44.0 percent shooting.
Congratulations on a successful career, Rajon!
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