Rajon Rondo will not go gently into the good night.
Whatever that means.
Really, the All-Star point guard just won’t allow himself to be removed from the top-three NBA player conversation—which is weird, because, ya know, he’s never, ever been part of that discussion.
“The top three NBA players in the league right now,” he said in a video questionnaire, per NESN’s Zack Cox, “I would have to say Rajon Rondo, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.”
Two out of three ain’t bad, right?
Looking beyond the fact that Marcus Thornton decided to drop Kobe Bryant’s name while citing the top-three players, Rondo’s assertion takes the cake here. The ever-stoic point guard couldn’t even labor through his answer with a completely straight face, though not for lack of trying. You can tell that he’s struggling not to smile as he speaks.
Here’s the video of those wily Boston Celtics answering these questions:
The above video is part of the reason why Rondo is still considered a star. NBA luminaries don’t doubt themselves. Rarely will you see All-Stars and superstars concede status to anyone. Had Derrick Rose or Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook or Kevin Love or any number of other stars been the asked exact same question, their answers would have been similar and, most likely, not in jest.
Not that Rondo is a top-three player. He clearly isn’t. And not only has he never been in the conversation, he’s never been further out of it. Injuries and inconsistent stat lines have damaged his standing. He leads the league in triple-doubles this season and remains a nightly triple-double threat, but he’s not even in the top-three point guard discussion at the moment—a debate he dominated through 2011-12, when injuries weren’t a factor.
Instead, he’s toting the burden of proof. Rondo will enter free agency this summer, at which point he’ll generate max-contract consideration. But will he actually be a max-contract player? The NBA is alive with talented point guards, and Rondo, at full strength, playing up to snuff, is among the best. The flashes of dominance he’s shown since returning last season, though, haven’t yet restored his previous placement. That’s what this season—the rest of it—is all about: continuing to play at a high level while ensuring his performance only improves.
Perhaps then, after staying healthy all year and flirting with triple-doubles regularly, Rondo can re-enter the top-three or top-five point guard circle. For now, he’s still working his way back from injury, on the outside of the truly elite point guard bubble looking in, reciting league-wide player rankings that solely reflect his faith in himself.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
