My Krazy Life

Enigmatic. Difficult. Genius. Mercurial. Strange. All Words That Have Been Used To Define Rajon Rondo. But Now That The Four-time All-star Is Based In Los Angeles And Getting Ready To Suit Up For The Le Bron James-led Lakers, Only One Word Properly Describes Him: Excited. Really, Really Excited.

- Tzvi Twersky

“NO.NO.” Rajon Rondo is adamant. It’s a late August morning, and as Rondo settles his lanky frame into a swanky armchair in his rental home in Manhattan Beach, his voice rises.

“We have the most pressure of any sports team,” he says.

Both local NFL teams, especially the Rams, are supposed to be superb this season. Fans expect a lot, Rondo’s told. Meanwhile, the Warriors, he’s reminded, have won back-to-back Chips and added All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.

“No,” he says, swatting the idea away with his oversized hands. “They can still fall back and say, Oh, we’ve won three out of four [Championships]. But when you have LeBron on your team, it’s all or nothing.”

If you google “the LeBron Effect,” over 18,000,000 results pop up in just under .5 seconds. Some of the links, at a hoops level, deal with Championship odds; others, taking a more fiscal approach, address James’ impact on local economies. Rajon Rondo has his own specific definition, though.

“We will take everybody’s best shot,” he explains. “Every game we’re playing, the energy is going to be there, guys are going to be locked in. There won’t be too many guys partying the night before they play us in L.A.”

Three thousand miles, 10 years and five teams ago, Rondo experienced a similar phenomenon with the Celtics. Every game, back then, teams brought their best to Boston, hoping to dethrone, if only for a night, the reigning champs. The veteran Celtics, fully aware of the dancing red dot trained on their chest, began the season 8-2 before reeling off 19 straight wins.

“We put that to bed right away,” laughs Rondo. Then, turning toward the Lakers again, he adds: “We have the two smartest players in the game on the same team. It’ll take some time—but we’ll figure it out, too.”