In a conversational interview hosted by Draymond Green and an unnamed moderator, Rajon Rondo reflects on the distinct nature of the 2020 NBA bubble championship compared to traditional titles, emphasizing the emotional significance of his sole championship parade and the unique environment of the bubble—constant proximity to opponents, lack of external distractions, and intensified mind games. Rondo discusses his early athletic background, revealing he grew up playing football and did not watch basketball, later discovering the sport through mentors like Derrick Anderson and Mike Bibby. He describes his learning philosophy as a "sponge," relying heavily on film study, guidance from his high‑school coach, and absorbing insights from NBA greats such as Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Shaquille O'Neal, and Draymond Green. The conversation also touches on his playoff mentality, using war metaphors to illustrate preparation, confidence, and team cohesion both before and during the bubble. Throughout, Rondo conveys pride, nostalgia, and a deep appreciation for the unique challenges and experiences that shaped his career.
Chapters
Boston championship versus a Los Angeles championship. Can you compare the two?
You can't compare it. You know, you can't compare it honestly because the 2020, we were in a bubble. So we didn't get a parade. So I've only had one parade and that was the most amazing thing that's happened to me in basketball. You know, just that type of love and reaction, how to, you know, to see the fans. You've seen it this year, but to be a part of it, to get on a duck boat, go on a tour, it was amazing, so. That's the only opportunity I got to have a parade. But at that particular time when I won in 2020, you know, my son was in the bubble with me. So that made that moment, you know, that was more special than you winning it at 20.
Oh, that's the picture behind you, right? Yeah.
Yeah, yep, yep.
That's the picture.
That picture was hard, bro. That's one of the most iconic championship pictures in the history to me.
I had no idea. He must have been watching.
So speaking of the bubble, When people try to say, "Ah, it's a bubble championship, it's this," as someone who's won a championship in the bubble, someone who's won a championship not in the bubble, how do you compare the two from that aspect of not traveling or being in the bubble, the different challenges or lack thereof, or, you know?
To me, I enjoy the bubble because you get to see the guy every day that you walking past. You know, you get to see the enemy. And there's no distractions, you know what I mean? There's no outside, you know, there's no hotel flights. Everybody's in one room. There's no excuses. It's check ball, you know, fan, you know, there's no advantages.
Yeah.
It's my best, you know, my 5 against your best 5 and figure it out. And you gotta obviously 7 games to figure it out. But I love that, that mind, that concept of we go right to the room, then we go to film. We were, we was able to learn a lot more during that time than I would say if we were able to like, you know, go home, practice, have other distractions. Don't think about the game, but in the bubble, That's all you're thinking about. Obviously, you know, and it's like in real life, in playoffs, when you're on the road, you know, you go home, you think about the game. But like when you're in a bubble, everything, every— you can go to your boy's room, you can talk about it, like, and you just gotta figure it out on the fly.
And you see your enemy.
That's exactly.
You might bump into him on the elevator. Okay, cool. Right. You know what I mean? Like, where you at today?
That's crazy.
Eating in the same place. You know what I mean? We had the, couple of meetings to where, you know, things we weren't gonna play. So like we all, we saw each other all the time. And I love, you know, I love that, that feeling.
That's crazy too because when you play someone in meaningful playoff series, there's naturally a beef created. Like, like it's naturally a, bro, I don't really like you. Like, and you don't—
Yep. Third game for sure. You like, man. Bro, like what's up?
Like, I don't like you, bro. It's naturally created. And y'all may see each other somewhere years down the road and be like, "Man, bro, that was fun." Or, "That was crazy." But right after, like during that, is a beef created. And the years following that—
That moment.
It's like, it's a beef. But like, bro, I don't like you, man. Like, because y'all all going after the same thing. And it's intense.
Yeah, I loved it. You know what I mean? It was fun to be a part of it.
That's a whole different mind game. That's why I love you and respect you, bro. 'Cause people don't even understand that mind game, bro. Like that's— It's guys, and you know this, it's guys you played against in that moment that didn't understand you were playing that mind game. Like, yeah, bro, like.
Come on, man, what we doing? When I was telling about how me and Bron was looking at the game, like it was Boston and Miami. And I was like, I got, who was at the time? Steven, Brad Steven. He was like, he got Spoh. So I was like, we were like I said, mentally we were preparing like to go to war and figure out, okay, I gotta beat this coach. And he's thinking like, I gotta beat this coach. And we knew we had each other's back whichever route we took. You know what I mean? So that's why we was very confident we was gonna win that bad boy. Even before the bubble, we felt like we was the ones. You know what I mean? We had a hell of a season. That's crazy.
Man, talk about your mentality. Just like the brand you wanted. Like how did you cook that up? You know what I mean? Like who did you like growing up and like, you know, who didn't you wanna be like and who didn't, you know what I mean?
Curry and Beatty. Curry and Beatty. I didn't watch basketball growing up.
Wow.
That's crazy.
I didn't watch basketball growing up. I thought I was gonna be an NFL player, you know what I mean? I played football. I was always outside. I was active. I didn't do no TV watching. I didn't watch no local team, you know what I mean? I didn't watch the Louisville Cardinals. That's why it wasn't a big deal for me to go to Kentucky, 'cause I didn't grow up a fan of anything. So when I picked up the game and I felt like, okay, I was good enough to do it, I locked into it as a goal, you know what I mean? Like, I didn't grow up being like, I wanna be an NBA player growing up. No, not like my son's dreams are. To me, I was just a kid on the street, just having fun, enjoying sports, being active. When it came to that decision, like I said, I was exposed to a different lifestyle. I got introduced to Derrick Anderson. He kind of took me under his wing as a mentor. So I'm like, damn, this is how you living? That's what's up. Or this is what you doing every day, waking up? Okay, cool. Man, let me work a little bit harder. Then I got introduced to Mike Bibby. Went out to Sacramento for a couple days, worked out with him. I'm like, damn, this is the life. Okay, cool. Let me get to it. And after that, I kind of just put my, my hard hat on and just worked. I was like, "Shit, I gotta figure out how to get this." You know what I mean? This type of lifestyle. Yeah. These vacations. I mean, just all the means that come with it. So that was the goal of mine. That's how I did it.
How did you know what was right though, though, to not watch the game at all and then end up with all the passes and see the floor the way you see the floor, which is different than just about anybody see the floor. How did you figure that out?
It sound crazy. I love the game. I played the game. Like I said, I always play with older kids. You know what I mean? I was the youngest on the court. My older brother play, you know, not getting picked up from whatever, just hooping. And then we played growing up. We, my boys talk about all the time. We walk in different neighborhoods. We play anywhere, everywhere around the city and we just hoop. But as far as knowledge of the game, my high school coach, shout out Doug Bibby. He broke, he started breaking the game down to me as a freshman. And I was like, okay. I was, you know, I was frustrated. I hate seeing myself on tape. And I was like, but The tapes was telling the truth. I mean, it was giving me answers to the test. So I locked into that and I was like, okay, what can I be great at? You know what I mean? I always wanted to have the answer to the test. Like my older brother taught me everything he knew mathematically. So I wanted to be the first to go to the board and get the answers. That's how I was in basketball. Okay, coach telling me just film his answers. So now I go on the court, I know what you're doing before you know what you're doing in a sense because of your habits. So I just studied and learned and locked in that way. Mm-hmm. And just kept it going, shit. And just learned the game. And I love to, like I said, I'm a sponge. Give me everything you got. From all the greats I played with, I'm taking a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and then implementing the guys I played with. That's why I love to play with the Cousins in the '80s, 'cause I was getting what I got from Dirk, Kevin, you know what I mean? Shaq, you know, Draymond Green. I was able to get a lot of great information. And like I said, I always just wanted to soak as much as I could from all of them.
