During the 2011-12 NBA season, Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo emerged as the next star alongside the iconic trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. However, an undrafted point guard named Jeremy Lin with the New York Knicks started to take over in the middle of the season, creating “Linsanity.”
In February 2012, Lin’s time on the court increased as the Knicks dealt with multiple injuries to their key players. The point guard became a temporary starter for the team following his 25-point performance in a win against the Brooklyn Nets (formerly the New Jersey Nets). The 6-foot-3 guard was the team’s starter leading up to their second regular season game against Boston.
Before they went head-to-head, the media started to create a buzz as Rondo was one of the top point guard talents in the league. The former Celtics guard appeared on Pierce’s “Truth Lounge” and recalled the story behind his March 4 game against Lin.
“I would say the Jeremy Lin game or the Cleveland Game 4,” Rondo said when asked what he thinks is his best game. “So the Lin game, I heard weeks about Lin, Linsanity, you turn on the TV…”
“Before the game, it was d**n near like a sea. But he was frying everybody he was lined up with, though. He was getting to the money, knowing that he was in the scouting report at this point. Now, everybody’s tired of hearing his name and then I’m hearing–I’m in Boston, so it’s like, ‘Linsanity, Linsanity.'”
Rondo said that even his star teammates put the pressure on him before his matchup against the breakout star.
“I’m getting pressure from the Big 3, pressure from the media [I’m like], ‘He better not come in here…’ The guy that’s doing the jerseys, everybody’s looking [at me] like ‘What you gon’ do?’ I slept on it, I manifested what I’mma do and I wasn’t taking it.”
“He better not be coming in here doing that sh*t.”@RajonRondo heard the noise & dropped an iconic triple-double against the Linsanity New York Knicks.
ALL-NEW Truth Lounge is live: https://t.co/8Hue1d3obD pic.twitter.com/ZI5roGD0wC
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) November 6, 2024
Boston’s former floor general had the last laugh in their matchup with his 18-point, 17-rebound and 20-assist triple-double. Rondo also led the Celtics to a 115-111 win.
How good was Rondo with the Boston Celtics?
The Boston Celtics had a steal when they traded for Rondo during the 2006 NBA Draft. The point guard developed into one of the best floor generals in the league and was a significant contributor to the 2008 championship team.
The 6-foot-1 guard played for the Celtics for nine years and put up 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 8.5 assists. He was a three-time All-Star and led the league in assists twice while playing for Boston. Rondo was also part of the NBA All-Defensive Team five times.
Fans will always remember how bright he was during his prime years with the Celtics.
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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 with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
