We knew Rajon Rondo is a confident fellow. But this is some next-level hubris.
Sporting News’ Sean Deveney offered a sneak peek Monday at Ray Allen’s new autobiography, which the ex-Boston Celtic will release later this month. As expected, Allen has a few stories about Rondo — who wasn’t exactly his best friend in Boston — and they’re not a good look for the current New Orleans Pelicans point guard.
According to Allen, Rondo told his teammates in a team meeting during the 2010-11 season, “I carried all of you to the championship in 2008.”
That’s, uh, quite the statement. Rondo had a fine 2007-08 season and played an integral role in the Celtics winning an NBA title, but most would agree he was at the very least behind Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in terms of importance — and probably behind Allen, as well. There’s a reason why the “Big Three” didn’t include Rondo.
Here’s how the Celtics reacted to Rondo’s ridiculous claim in that meeting, per Allen:
“The rest of the team, almost in unison, responded, ‘You what?’ ”
As Allen tells it, Rondo’s issues with the C’s were deep-seated. Back in 2009, Allen recounts, Boston was considering trading he and Rondo to Phoenix in a deal centered around Suns big man Amar’e Stoudemire, in part due to the front office’s issues with Rondo. In that 2011 meeting, Allen claims Rondo informed him as much, saying, “You told me I was the reason we were going to be traded.”
Allen left for the Miami Heat the following year, and Rondo’s grudge with the sharpshooter apparently never went away, as he made a point not to invite Allen to a reunion party for the 2008 Celtics.
If Allen’s anecdote is true, Rondo might want to re-evaluate a few things before dropping more hot takes.
