After 16 years in the NBA, Rajon Rondo officially announced his retirement from the league and revealed the main driver.
The two-time NBA champion was straight up asked if the NBA had seen the last of him by Matt Barnes on the All the Smoke podcast.
“Absolutely,” the 38-year-old said. “Yeah, I’m done. I can’t. I’d rather spend time with my kids.”
Later in the episode, Rondo further drove the point home when he referred to himself as “a full-time dad, whenever I can be.”
The guard led the NBA in steals per game in 2009-10 and in assists per game in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2015-16.
He also made the league’s All-Defensive Team four times and won his two NBA championships with the 2008 Boston Celtics and the 2020 Lakers.
The four-time All-Star last played in the 2021-22 season with the Lakers and Cavaliers and his time in the league is something he will be forever grateful for.
“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.”
Rondo was a first-round draft pick by the Suns out of Kentucky in 2006.
But was then dealt to the Celtics that night instead, with Brian Grant going the other way.
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