Rajon Rondo has one of the highest basketball IQs of any guard to ever run the floor, and was the last of a dying breed when he retired in 2024. His playmaking is the stuff of legend - just ask Lebron James. In a sit-down with JJ Reddick a few years ago, LeBron was asked who stands out in terms of IQ he played with or played against.
"Rajon Rondo, for sure," started LeBron. "He can process, flip, do things on the go...It's very weird to me that he isn't coaching at a very high level."
Well, according to a recent update from Jake Fischer and Mark Stein, he may finally be ready to make that leap. The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly interested in Rondo as a potential head coach option.
Rondo is Ready For the Jump
At Kentucky, Rondo was elite defensively, averaging north of two steals a game in both of his college seasons. He simply knew how to lead the team, and to get the ball where it needed to be on both ends. Rondo only got better on the next level, too.
He was a true floor general in the NBA, someone you could let loose trust to execute the game plan beyond whatever you drew up. The Boston Celtics had a big three, in Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, but without Rondo's ability to tie those threads together, that team probably doesn't win it all.
In game six of the 2008 NBA Finals, Rondo dazzled with 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and six steals to help secure Boston's first title since 1986. On top of his legendary ability, the guard's relentless competitiveness should translate seamlessly into coaching.
In a summer workout in 2014, Rondo and fellow NBA veteran Josh Smith had a battle for the ages. Smith and Rondo were actually friends, but Smith's young son asked a family member, "Are they friends anymore?" Justin Zormolo, who put the two on the court together, said, "I had to stop training them and let them go at each other, one-on-one, because they were going to rip each other's heads off...That's how much of a competitor Rajon Rondo is."
A Much-Needed Turnaround
That rare sort of fire makes Rondo a tremendous coaching candidate. Especially for a New Orleans team that went just 26-56 last season; fire is much needed for the Pelicans, to say the least.
The former Kentucky standout, who visited Mark Pope's team just last season at Rupp Arena, is ready. "I know I can do it," Rondo said, "it’s about having the right people around you. I’ve had a lot of great mentors, a lot of people rooting for me. I definitely think I’ll be ready to go.”
The ball is in the Pelicans' court, but Rondo appears to make more sense, at least from at outside perspective, than anyone else on the board. The BBN would be thrilled to see one of their own get a shot at the highest level of coaching basketball.
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