Rajon Rondo announces retirement after 16-year career in NBA

Rajon Rondo announced this week on the “All That Smoke” podcast that he is no longer playing in the NBA.

“I’d rather spend time with my kids,” Rondo told hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

Rondo, 38, was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the first round out of Kentucky in 2006. That night, he was traded to the Boston Celtics, while Brian Grant was traded to another team.

While playing nine seasons with the Celtics, Rondo won his first NBA title, was named an All-Star four times, was named to the NBA All-Defensive first and second teams twice, and led the league in steals in 2010. He was at the top of the league. Once he became a regular on the team in his rookie season, he averaged double-digit points per game.

Rondo was traded from Boston to the Dallas Mavericks in December 2014, but his playing there ended that season after clashing with head coach Rick Carlisle and a deteriorating relationship with his teammates. did. It was reportedly bad enough that Rondo was left out of the playoff share.

Rondo spent the next three seasons with three different teams: the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, and New Orleans Pelicans before joining the Los Angeles Lakers and helping them win the 2020 NBA title. He averaged 8.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds off the bench en route to his second career championship.

Rondo last played with the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers in 2022, before playing again with the Lakers and eventually with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ms. Rondo told Ms. Burns and Ms. Jackson that she intended to return to school as a full-time student and take a combination of online and in-person courses at the University of Kentucky. He dropped out of college to enter his 2006 NBA Draft and is currently finishing his degree while coaching his 12-year-old son.