Image via Complex Original
There aren't a lot of guys in sports let alone the NBA like Rajon Rondo. He has a game unlike most others of his generation, he doesn't let the media get a great sense of what he's like off the court, and has had a series of controversial moments in his NBA career. Is he just a strong willed guy who only cares about winning? Is he a cocky guy with a sense of entitlement that doesn't allow him to be approachable? We've taken it upon ourselves to determine if he's a badass or a jackass as we take a look at some of his epic post season performances, his ref incidents, the beef with Ray Allen, and that epic cameraman fail. So, peep his track record and determine if Rajon Rondo is a badass or jackass.
RELATED: Cam Newton: Badass or Jackass?
Badass: Winning the 2008 NBA Title With The Big 3
When: 2007-08 Season
When the O.G. Big Three was assembled in Boston in '08, they got paired with a young big in Kendrick Perkins and some kid from Kentucky who'd be running the show and getting the ball to all of those stars. The kid was Rondo, and the team was the eventual champions. Rondo held his own and had amazing growth in his second year that worked seamlessly with the three All-Stars and helped catapult them to the top in their first season together. People thought Rondo would be the reason they don't win, when it turned out he did everything they needed him to do (10.2 PPG and 6.6 APG in the playoffs) and set himself up as a young guy to watch down the line.
Jackass: Beef with Ray Allen
When: 2009-Present
If you've watched ESPN in the past two months as it relates to any NBA coverage, you've heard about the beef between Rondo and Ray Allen. The teammates relationship reportedly went sour a few years back and many say the beef paired with Allen's feeling that Boston was disloyal and wasn't using his talents for more than just being a decoy, led him to signing with the hated rival in the Miami Heat.
Allen said it all changed when after being told himself and Rondo were going to get traded because of Rondo's bad relationship with Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers, he reached out to Rondo and Rajon reportedly took him reaching out as him having a problem with him. Rondo's take has been that it was never a big deal and that there are always co-workers who don't like each other. How much this relationship affected the team over the past couple seasons is up in the air, but the fact that if this was even a remote factor in Allen's choice to go to Miami makes this a huge jackass moment for Rondo. You just helped the team that took you out and is easily your biggest rival get better, c'mon son.
Badass: Breaking the Celtics Single-Season Record for Steals and Numerous Assist Records
When: 2010-Present
"Stop thief!" Yup, the sneaky PG from Kentucky vaulted himself into Celtics lure again in March of 2010 when he passed Rick Fox for the Celtics single-season steals record. Quoted as saying he wasn't a "gambler," Rondo showed he can dish it and take it when he recorded this accolade. There's nothing like a point guard who has a nose for the ball, and this record was broken despite the fact his "gambles" were actually down from previous seasons.
So, what did we learn from a dude who got more steals while taking less chances? Correct, this is a badass PG. Steals are a huge stat but when it comes to point guards assists are king. Throughout his career Rondo has shown an ability to dish the rock like few in NBA history, sure it doesn't hurt to have guys like KG and Pierce on your team, but let's stop hating on that. Rondo has broken the record for most assists in a triple double (24), and most assists through five games in a season for the NBA and the Celtics (82 in '10-'11).
Jackass: Ugly Jacket + Cameraman Attack = Fail
When: 5/9/2012
OK this one is just unforgivable. He wore this then proceeded to confront some cameraman after a 86-87 playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The TNT crew tore into him for that Hamburglar jacket, and rightfully so. As a professional athlete, you can't have a meltdown like this because it makes you look like a douche and it will somehow get recorded. Especially when the guy you're attacking has a camera and is recording you! Stop trying to fight Russell Westbrook for the worst most eccentric dressed NBA player of the playoffs and work on the jump shot Rajon, please.
Badass: Playing with a Dislocated Elbow
When: 5/7/2011
You dislocate your elbow and you're probably taking it easy for the next few weeks. Rajon Rondo dislocates his elbow and he's back in the game for the third quarter of the conference semifinals. This has badass written all over it, not only does Rondo come back in the game, but he finishes with 11 assists and two one-armed buckets in the fourth quarter. Did we mention the Celtics won the game 97-81 and registered their first win of the series as well. Granted they didn't win another game that series and the injury no doubt hampered Rondo in the following two games, it still doesn't take away from how badass this moment was.
Jackass: Beef with the Refs
When: February and April 2012
There's one thing that will automatically get an athlete in trouble during games, in press conferences, on the radio, anywhere: Messing with the referees! You don't touch them, you don't say anything vulgar to them, you don't threaten them, you just don't do it. Rondo ignored all of these back in February when he decided it would be OK to throw a ball at a ref after a bad no call and was ejected. Apparently the lesson wasn't learned as last year in the playoffs in the video above, he thought it'd be OK for him to bump a ref after what he thought was a bad call. Instant ejection and suspension for Game 2 of that series for Rondo. Do it again and see if David Stern doesn't fine you six figures or more, bro.
Badass: 2012 Playoff Run
When: April thru June 2012
For anybody who didn't catch the playoffs last year, despite the loss in the Eastern Conference finals, this was easily Rondo's coming out party for the Celtics. He seemingly finally identified himself as Boston's best player, averaging a solid 17.3 PPG, 11.9 APG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.4 SPG and giving us the ridiculous 44-10-8-3 game above. We didn't even know Rondo had a performance like that in him. He was never a big scorer but he could always do everything else. In these playoffs however, he asserted himself as guy who can score when he needed to in accordance with helping his team win. Regardless of how it ended, the league officially was put on notice for just how good Rondo is and it marked the beginning of the Celtics being his team.
Jackass: Dirty Fouls
When: 2009-Present
With Rajon Rondo you get the good, the bad, and on this occasion, the ugly. Call it a dirty play or a really heads up play, but don't call it accidental. In this 2009 game five tilt against the Bulls Rondo knew exactly what he was doing when he came across the lane to take a shot at Brad Millers head/neck. This wasn't called a flagrant at the time and quite frankly we can't figure out why. Miller is visibly shook as he goes to the line trailing by two and subsequently misses the two free-throws allowing the Celtics to hold on for the OT win, and take a commanding 3-2 lead in the series. So it was a dirty play that no doubt gave Boston the win and the momentum to go on and win what is regarded as arguably the best playoff series in postseason history. In addition to that foul, Rondo has pushed Kirk Hinrich into the scorer's table and most recently went after Dwyane Wade's neck during the season opener.
Badass: Posing with a LeBron Hater
When: 10/30/2012
Jackass move: Wearing a T-shirt that's calling your team's biggest rival a bitch. Badass move: Posing with a fan wearing that exact shirt! This isn't just badass, it's hilarious and makes you actually kind of appreciate Boston fans. We love LeBron James as much as the the next guy, but this is too good to take shots at. Now the question is, what are the odds on LeBron going for 42-10-10 the next game in Boston?
Final Verdict: Badass
He's cocky, he's arrogant, he's a jack...hold it right there, judge. When Rajon Rondo joined the Celtics in 2006 he was a scrawny point guard out of Kentucky who played second fiddle to Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West, shall we play the "where are they now" game? Rondo had no jumper and looked like he was in over his head in a Celtics offense that struggled to find any consistency. Fast forward a season and surrounded by KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, Rondo breaks out and drives the Cs to the one-seed in the Eastern Conference and follows that up with a veteran post-season performance that ends with a first ring and the praise of zen master Phil Jackson.
Sure he's had his jackass moments here and there but overall this floor general has evolved into one of the top PGs in the game and one of the best things that ever happened to the Boston Celtics. A true teammate with a feisty passion, Rondo is well beyond his years at point guard and plays with a vision that few in the game have shown. He's everything we love in an old-school guard: nagging defense, unselfishness with the rock, and the ability to win the big game. He still has a long way to go to reach John Stockton, but we just love watching him buck the trend of the "modern" point guard. Give it to him, Rajon Rondo is no doubt a badass.