Heir To The Throne
Rajon Rondo: The Big #1 of the Celtics big 4.
Rajon Rondo is the most fascinating point guard to watch in the NBA, and one of the most exciting players you will ever see on the court. He has a style all his own, and the most dynamic and multi-faceted player the NBA has seen in a long time. Here is some background info on him from Wikipedia:
"Date of birth February 22, 1986 (1986-02-22) (age 24) Place of birth Louisville, Kentucky
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 171 lb (78 kg)
NBA Draft 2006 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Pro career 2006–present
Career highlights and awards:
NBA Champion (2008)
NBA All-Star (2010)
All-Defensive First Team (2010)
All-Defensive Second Team (2009)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2007)
2004 McDonald's All American
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Rondo attended Eastern High School and Oak Hill Academy for his high-school basketball career, before receiving a scholarship from the University of Kentucky. He played for two years at Kentucky before declaring for the 2006 NBA Draft, represented by agent Bill Duffy.
During the draft, Rondo was selected 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns, and was subsequently traded to the Boston Celtics, where he made his NBA debut as a rookie during the 2006–07 season. He played a supporting role before he established himself as the starting point guard for the Celtics during the 2007–08 season. That season, Rondo earned his first NBA Championship, playing alongside All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.(Wikipedia)"
So Rajon's game developed pretty early in life when he started out among all things as a quarterback. His mom wanted him to play Basketball, because it would be a little easier on his "skinny frame" (I guess that explains where he got speed). During his junior year at Eastern High School, he averaged 27.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists which earned him a spot on the All-State team and was named the 7th Region Player of the Year. He transferred to Virginia's Oak Hill Academy for his senior year where he averaged 21.0 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game and 12.0 assists per game and finished the 2003-04 season with a 38-0 record. He holds the single-game assists school record of 31, merely four away from the all-time national record. He also had a 55 point game in high school, second highest all-time in Oak Hill Academy. Not bad for a "skinny kid."
His pick in the draft has an interesting timeline itself:
August 6, 2004: Traded by the Los Angeles Lakers (as a 2006 1st round draft pick) with Rick Fox and Gary Payton to the Boston Celtics for Chucky Atkins, Jumaine Jones and Chris Mihm.
February 24, 2005: Traded by the Boston Celtics (as a 2006 1st round draft pick) with Tom Gugliotta, Gary Payton and Michael Stewart to the Atlanta Hawks for Antoine Walker.
August 19, 2005: Traded by the Atlanta Hawks (as a 2006 1st round draft pick) with Boris Diaw and a 2008 1st round draft pick (Robin Lopez) to the Phoenix Suns for Joe Johnson.
June 28, 2006: Drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 1st round (21st pick) of the 2006 NBA Draft.
June 28, 2006: Traded by the Phoenix Suns with Brian Grant to the Boston Celtics for a 2007 1st round draft pick (Rudy Fernandez).
I guess the Celtics were destined to end up with him somehow. Rajon played a big role for the C's in the 2008 Championship averaging 10.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists. In the 2009 playoffs, he averaged almost a triple double, as he was good for 16.9 points 9.7 rebounds and 9.8 assists. He is first team 2009-10 NBA All-Defensive. He was an all-star for the first time in his career too, averaging 9.8 assists, 2.3 steals and 4.4 rebounds, warranting the Celtics to sign him to a 5 year $55 million contract in November of 2009. During the 2010 playoffs so far, he is averaging 17.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 10.6 assists, all while at the helm of the star-studded Boston Celtic offense. Here is something I found on youtube.com from his epic game four of the Eastern Conference semifinal performance of 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists:
Rondo hasn't been known to be a shooter, although his mid range jump shot has shown significant improvement. He has developed an elbow jumper that he relies on heavily if he doesn't have an immediate passing option. His close range floater has shown some improvement this year and is his weapon of choice after some dribble penetration. 82games.com has a breakdown that says that most of his shots this year have been jump shots (53%) followed closely by the close range floaters and layups (45%).
He also holds some all-time records in the historic Boston Celtics franchise with the most assists in a single-season with 794 (2009-10 1st in NBA) and the most steals in a single-season with 189 (2009-10 1st in the NBA in steals /game) and we at Stat Junky think he'll continue to build on that legacy and stay on the path of developing his game and becoming the premier point guard in the NBA for quite some time.
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