Los Angeles Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo was asked recently about his thoughts on Kevin Garnett’s unflattering comments regarding LeBron James.
The Boston Celtics were among James’ most difficult opponents during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rondo was a member of those Celtics teams that tormented the four-time MVP and eliminated the Cavs twice in the postseason.
Garnett recently said during an interview that he and his teammates “broke” James in Cleveland which led to his decision to sign with the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010.
Instead of confirming the validity of Garnett’s words, Rondo at first feigned ignorance before defending James, who has been his teammate since last season.
I thought it was important to clarify whether Rondo does, in fact, like LeBron. He said, "I love LeBron. He’s one of my favorite teammates i’ve ever played for. He’s a very unselfish person."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) December 20, 2019
Later, Rondo virtually confirmed that it was the Celtics’ mindset to break James since they were playing against him. However, Rondo has since departed from that thinking now that he plays with the Lakers superstar.
More Rondo: "Can’t really hate him honestly. Back in the day when we played against him, that’s the mindset that you have. … It’s a different perspective actually being in the locker room with him and understanding how genuine of a person he is off the court."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) December 20, 2019
Rondo and Garnett’s Celtics teams from the 2007-08 to 2012-13 season were among the toughest teams in the league to match up against both physically and mentally.
They tested James arguably like no other team had done before. It wasn’t until he went to the Heat and played with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh that he finally defeated the Celtics in the playoffs.
Now, Rondo and James are working together to try and bring a championship back to the Lakers. Based on their on-court chemistry, the two don’t appear to carry grudges against one another from their time as rivals.
