In this interview, Rajon Rondo, joined by Draymond Green and host Baron Davis, reflects on his early NBA years with the Boston Celtics. Rondo describes feeling disrespected when he entered the league, which fueled a chip on his shoulder and a relentless drive to prove doubters wrong. He recounts how he earned the respect of veteran superstars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce through accountability, hard work, and embracing the team’s culture of sacrifice. Rondo highlights Garnett’s mentorship—holding him accountable and teaching the ropes—while noting the collective willingness of the veterans to set egos aside for the championship pursuit. He also shares his love for playing on the road and silencing hostile crowds, framing his role as a leader who thrives under pressure. The conversation underscores themes of motivation, respect, mentorship, and the Celtics’ veteran-driven dynamics during Rondo’s formative seasons.
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Like when you came into the league, it's almost like your game went to a whole, like you was cold in college.
Man, you boy chubby-headed.
You know what I mean? Is that what it was?
Come on, man, listen, we had—
Let me breathe, bro, y'all had a whip.
Listen, we had like 4 McDonald's, no, 3 McDonald's All-Americans. And we bringing the ball down the court.
Running plays.
5 passes, I'm like, what we doing? We can get up the court and go. I mean, we had some players, but like I said, Got it, you know, he didn't, neither here nor there. I'm where I am today, I'm thankful for it. But like, yeah, we was ready to go and I needed this space to let me go, you know what I mean? Play some mistakes. So, but Doc didn't let me do that at first though.
That's what I was saying. Yeah, that's what I was saying. You came in with a chip on your shoulder.
I was disrespected.
Yeah. And on top of that, you had vets, you know what I mean? You had like superstar vets that like, you gotta have that, you know what I'm saying? To get they respect. Like, talk about that, man.
But the crazy thing, people ask me that, but I didn't, man, I didn't grow up a fan of none of 'em. They all respect all of us today, but I didn't grow up a fan of nobody. Like, you know, the big ticket, I didn't know who the big ticket was. You know what I mean? He played Minnesota. I didn't have cable. We didn't watch TV. You know, they never watched TV. So like, I didn't watch. I seen he got game. I didn't really watch Ray in Seattle. So I don't, I didn't know him. So I wasn't, I was never in awe of anybody. It was just like, shit, okay, cool. This is what they do well. This is what I do well. So, and knowing that KG was like, he wanted me to stay, I was like, shit, let's get it. You know what I mean? Like I said, I'm gonna earn their respect. But most more importantly, I just knew what I wanted to be. You know what I mean? Like I wanna be the great. They know, you hear this shit about they can't win with a young point guard. Me and Perk got all the disrespect that year. So I was like, okay, cool. It's motivation. I was supposed to be a bust, 21st pick. You know what I mean? So they, I got traded, so Boston think, you know, Thank goodness that's not the way the world works, how life works. So other than that, I was always motivated and always wanted to prove people wrong. And I love to shut a motherfucker up. You know what I mean? That's why I love going on the road and playing. That's just the best thing. It's one of the best feelings.
That's a fact. Shutting that crowd up.
Yeah, man. Man, watch out.
I heard this story before where your rookie year, you got obviously Ray, KG.
No, no, no, not my rookie year.
Second year.
Second year.
Second year, you got Ray, KG, Truth.
Yeah.
At that point, you still the young fella, you know what I'm saying? They stars, you still the young fella. And I heard there was a point very early in that season where you had to stop and like all three at one time, check them and try to fight them.
Hell nah, I ain't do that. Try to fight all three of them at one time?
—like, just more so, like, let them know, like, I understand who y'all are. Like, not necessarily like, yo, I'm trying to fight y'all all at once, but like, I understand who y'all are, but there's a level of respect to be had here too.
Nah, it was never no scenes like that between us, really. You know, the stuff you hear about maybe, you know, me and Ray or whatever, other than that. But like, nah, KG was, from the first time we played, you know, we came in early 'cause we was focused on winning the championship. So we came in like maybe 3 weeks before training camp started. Okay. First pickup, he's yelling, "Screen, screen, screen." I'm like, "Damn." You know what I mean? It's night and day difference. He in the paint. So now I feel more comfortable being able to get into the ball. I ain't gotta do this, but I got a nigga behind me talking, you know what I mean? Telling me what's going on communication-wise. So we've always had a great rapport. I mean, you know, we butt heads just like damn near with all my teammates, but at the same time, it's all love. And for him, he was the one that held me accountable. When I fucked up, he'd be like, Hey, young fella, like, that ain't it. Or he'd be like, you know what, you got a point, stand on that. You know what I mean? So it was kind of like he would still teach me the ropes, but also hold me accountable and not let me get away with the bullshit. Other times I may have gotten away with certain things.
Oh, that's fire. So KG, you say KG is your vet?
No, I went to all universities. Paul Pierce University, Ray Allen University, and Ticket University. So yeah, I got to travel to all of them. It was fun.
What was Paul Pierce University like?
Ooh.
Paul Pierce.
Man, you see his show, this shit, that wild boy. But see, the first couple years dealing with Paul, man, he was tough. Like I said, first year Paul left, he got hurt and he was like, he got out on us. He took all back to LA. So it was a brief interaction with him my first year. But then like I said, he got around Kevin, but I feel like they all meshed well. And one thing they did great was they was always able to sacrifice. You know what I mean? That was like, egos were aside. It wasn't about who got the biggest contract. And to me, KG sacrificed the most. I think he had made the most at the time. You know what I mean? So he was, always took the back seat. Let them get their shit off. Then he'd be like, hey, bring that bitch down here. You know what I mean? So that's when he would really would chop it to me. But other than that, he was willing to sacrifice set screens no matter what. You know what I mean? Stand in pick and roll longer. That was just type of one of my greatest, the best team I probably ever played with for sure.
Wow, that's crazy. So just as a leader, KG, in a different stratosphere.
A different, I mean, his mindset, the way he approaches the game, his focus, like his discipline, his day-to-day routine. Like, it's like him, And I would say Bron are like the most strict on teammates I've ever played with that do everything always the same. Like, it's a hell of an experience to like to see that and be a teammate of that.
