#TBT- Rajon Rondo, PG, Sacramento Kings
@Hoover__26 February 25
Basketball is a constantly evolving game. From a time when dribbling was illegal, to a time when “two-hand set or chest shots” (taken from a legendary book by Red Auerbach) were one of the most popular shooting styles, to a time when once-penalized high flying dunks and once non-existent three point shots are all the rage, few things have stayed the same. In fact, I can only think of one thing that has been a vital part of the game ever since Dr. James Naismith first put up those peach baskets and invented a revolutionary game for his students. That thing, which you may have figured out by the fact that this piece is about Rajon Rondo, is passing.
There have been so many great passers over the years, and many of them were also all around great players. However (whether it’s due to psychology, as I suspect, or the large amount of players who excel at things like scoring), great passers and great defenders very rarely get enough recognition. All-time great passers like Kevin Johnson (who’s stats I will use a little later) are often overlooked or forgotten as time passes. Rajon Rondo is one of the best guards in the game today, and deserves to be treated as such (despite some questionable behavior on and off the court). Take into consideration this fact. Rondo, at 30 years old, is averaging a career high in assists (not to mention he’s only averaged more points twice in his career and has a career high in three point percentage, but scoring isn’t really a focal point of his). I know he’s playing with a dominant center in DeMarcus Cousins, which pads his passing stats a little, but this isn’t his first year with a stud at the other end of his dimes. He shared four seasons in Boston with Kevin Garnett and six seasons with Paul Pierce, a pair of future Hall Of Famers. Rondo has had some pretty talented teammates over his career, but you have to give him a good part of the credit for those numbers. After all, plenty of players have averaged considerably less assists while playing with great teammates. The 1993-1994 Indiana Pacers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with offensive players like Reggie Miller (great shooter), Rik Smits (elite post player) and Derrick McKey (a jack-of-all-trades kind of player), but the team’s point guard (Haywoode Workman) averaged only 6.2 assists.
Rondo isn’t just a good passer, he’s an elite passer. Kevin Johnson (whom I mentioned earlier), widely considered one of the best passers in NBA history (and Basketball Hall Of Fame finalist), never averaged more than 14.5 assists per 100 possessions (basketball-reference.com). In that very same stat, Rondo is currently averaging 16.3 and has topped Johnson’s top mark in five seasons (six if you exclude the time he spent in Dallas in 2014-15, which was a train wreck as I expected).
In terms of fantasy value, not many people can say they top Rondo. He averages over 40 espn.com fantasy points per game (something less than 20 NBA players can currently say) and has topped 50 fantasy points in 6 of his last 13 games (something guys like Damian Lillard and Draymond Green can’t say).
I’m not sure there is a better passer in the NBA than this week’s #TBT. Sure, there may be more flashy passers in the league, but as far as pure passing talent, a talent that has been in use since the words “basket ball” (it was two words originally) were first uttered, Rondo might just be #1.
There have been so many great passers over the years, and many of them were also all around great players. However (whether it’s due to psychology, as I suspect, or the large amount of players who excel at things like scoring), great passers and great defenders very rarely get enough recognition. All-time great passers like Kevin Johnson (who’s stats I will use a little later) are often overlooked or forgotten as time passes. Rajon Rondo is one of the best guards in the game today, and deserves to be treated as such (despite some questionable behavior on and off the court). Take into consideration this fact. Rondo, at 30 years old, is averaging a career high in assists (not to mention he’s only averaged more points twice in his career and has a career high in three point percentage, but scoring isn’t really a focal point of his). I know he’s playing with a dominant center in DeMarcus Cousins, which pads his passing stats a little, but this isn’t his first year with a stud at the other end of his dimes. He shared four seasons in Boston with Kevin Garnett and six seasons with Paul Pierce, a pair of future Hall Of Famers. Rondo has had some pretty talented teammates over his career, but you have to give him a good part of the credit for those numbers. After all, plenty of players have averaged considerably less assists while playing with great teammates. The 1993-1994 Indiana Pacers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with offensive players like Reggie Miller (great shooter), Rik Smits (elite post player) and Derrick McKey (a jack-of-all-trades kind of player), but the team’s point guard (Haywoode Workman) averaged only 6.2 assists.
Rondo isn’t just a good passer, he’s an elite passer. Kevin Johnson (whom I mentioned earlier), widely considered one of the best passers in NBA history (and Basketball Hall Of Fame finalist), never averaged more than 14.5 assists per 100 possessions (basketball-reference.com). In that very same stat, Rondo is currently averaging 16.3 and has topped Johnson’s top mark in five seasons (six if you exclude the time he spent in Dallas in 2014-15, which was a train wreck as I expected).
In terms of fantasy value, not many people can say they top Rondo. He averages over 40 espn.com fantasy points per game (something less than 20 NBA players can currently say) and has topped 50 fantasy points in 6 of his last 13 games (something guys like Damian Lillard and Draymond Green can’t say).
I’m not sure there is a better passer in the NBA than this week’s #TBT. Sure, there may be more flashy passers in the league, but as far as pure passing talent, a talent that has been in use since the words “basket ball” (it was two words originally) were first uttered, Rondo might just be #1.