Aside from winning the NBA championships, players work hard to be good enough to have a case at the James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Players who have not won titles still get inducted into the Hall of Fame, which is what former Boston Celtics player argued about his former teammate. According to Kendrick Perkins, former star point guard Rajon Rondo deserves to be immortalized at the Hall.
Rondo announced his retirement from basketball in April 2024. Although he wasn’t a consistent All-Star, he had an iconic run when he was part of the Celtics. He won his first championship in Boston and was selected to four straight All-Stars. He was also a four-time All-Defensive team member during his run with the team.
When he left the Celtics, the only accolade he added to his resume was the 2020 title that he won with the Los Angeles Lakers. Although he doesn’t boast a lot of achievements, Perkins believes he deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Perk spoke highly of his former teammate during the recent episode of the show “Road Trippin’.”
“Look at his resume,” Perkins said. “Again, three-time assists leader, three-time steals leader. I think he made All-Defense three or four times. Four-time All-Star. Two-time champion with two of the most historic franchises in sports.”
Perkins used Reggie Miller as an example. A five-time All-Star who didn’t win a championship but was inducted into the Hall.
“And what I’m saying is, I hate to bring Reggie Miller into this, but I’ve got to compare resumes. Reggie Miller, five times he was an NBA All-Star. Five times,” Perkins said. “Rondo, four times. Reggie Miller, no championships. Rondo got two. This matters. So if I Google, and put their resumes side by side towards their accolades, how doesn’t he get in?”
Trading away Georges Niang indicated a tanking season for the Boston Celtics according to NBA insider
The Boston Celtics made a lot of changes to their roster this summer. Mostly, it’s to avoid the second apron, which will still allow them to have access to full mid-level exceptions next season. The other reason is because they’re expected to be less competitive for the 2025-26 season.
That’s because All-Star forward Jayson Tatum will spend the entire campaign recovering from an Achilles tendon tear. One of the players they acquired over the summer via trade was Georges Niang. However, the 32-year-old forward didn’t last long with the Celtics and was traded to the Utah Jazz.
According to NBA insider Chris Mannix, the decision to trade Niang indicated that the Boston Celtics are expected to tank next season.
“If they had not traded [Georges] Niang, I might have been able to get on board with you,” said Mannix.
“Niang is a serviable NBA player. He’s been on winning teams before, but they traded him for nothing just to get out of that contract.”
Niang isn’t a star, but trading him and not getting anything significant in return made it clear about the Celtics’ plans this season.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
