Rajon Rondo is a man of many talents. The four-time All-Star was a dynamite passer, a lockdown defender, and a solid scoring option from the point guard position. Though, 2x champ’s stardom didn’t stop him from indulging in the occasional scuffle.
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In fact, he famously got into several disputes with his old C’s coach Doc Rivers during his time in Boston. Rondo was asked to share one of those tales during his recent appearance on All The Smoke.
Rondo recalled a team meeting in the locker room during the 2010-2011 season, the one year the famed franchise had Shaquille O’Neal on the roster. He set the stage by explaining that Rivers had them all watching film for their upcoming matchup against another Eastern Conference rival.
“We were watching film. My third year. We were playing the Detroit Pistons. Obviously, I watched film the night before,” began Rondo. He went on to divulge how Chauncey Billups had been killing them, with Rivers apparently calling out Rondo for poor defense. That didn’t sit well with Rondo, so much so that Shaq had to calm him down.
“I look across and Shaq is looking at me like, ‘Be cool.’ He’s like, ‘Don’t do it.’ I’m ready to go crazy. I’m like, why are we hear talking about me when Rip had 32 or something last night? That’s what kind of pissed me off. “
Rondo had every right to be mad. It’s one thing to have just criticism about your play, but it’s another for a coach to single you out when it wasn’t his assignment that was torching them. Unfortunately, Rajon couldn’t keep his professional hat on in the moment and revealed that he only made the situation worse.
“So I’m like man, f*** it. I jump up, boom, throw the water bottle at the TV. TV explodes. Me and Doc immediately trying to go at it. They got in between us. They told me to get my a** out. Go take a walk. “
The environment must have been tense. A head coach and a player nearly trading blows is certainly not good for morale. But Rondo later added that Kevin Garnett, who was also on the team, called him up the night following the incident and told him that he was wrong. He appreciated KG holding him accountable, so he made up with Doc the next time they saw each other.
“Since that day forward, we’ve been tight ever since,” claimed Rondo. As difficult as that must have been to handle at the time, incidents like that can bring people closer. Whether it’s the bond of competitors or the coach/player dynamic, going through that with someone shows that they both cared about one thing: winning.
Doc Rivers would be out as the C’s head coach in the 2012-2013 season, one year before Rondo would depart for the Mavs. While this TV exploding scuffle is far from their favorite memory together, the duo did win a title together in 2008. That is something that no one can take away from them.
Rondo retired from the league in 2022. Meanwhile, Doc is currently the head honcho for the Milwaukee Bucks. He may only have one ring to his name, but he has a tremendous win record that proves he knows something about this game. He just needs to be more careful who he criticizes.
