Rajon Rondo has become the last member of the 2008 Boston Celtics championship team to call it a career.
The 38-year-old point guard confirmed this week on the “ALL THE SMOKE” show that he is “absolutely” done with his playing career.
“I’m done. I’d rather spend time with my kids,” Rondo said.
Back in October, Rondo hadn’t yet officially retired, but acknowledged that his playing days were coming to a close. He now appears set to jump into coaching.
“Coaching is in the future,” Rondo said in October. “I wanted to come in here this week and learn from Joe. Pick up as much knowledge I can from him and the rest of the staff. Just kind of learn.”
The No. 21 overall pick in of the 2006 NBA Draft, Rondo rose to stardom as a young point guard with the 2007-08 Celtics, which had rebuilt themselves around the new Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
In just his second NBA season, Rondo started 77 games for the Celtics that season, averaging 10.6 points and 5.1 assists that year as Boston took home the title.
Rondo eventually grew into a star himself, making four straight All-Star teams during his time in Boston. Rondo led the NBA in assists three times during his career. A four-time All-Defensive Team selection, Rondo also led the league in steals in 2009-10.
Rondo played his first nine NBA seasons in Boston before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. The point guard went on to play for the Kings, Bulls, Pelicans, Lakers, Hawks, Clippers, Lakers again and the Cavaliers. His last NBA action came with Cleveland in 2022. The longtime point guard won a second NBA title with the Lakers during the 2020 playoffs in the bubble.