[Old General Record] Celtics Badhead! Champion Commander!

"I didn't think I would choose him until I saw him in person."

This is a sentence that former Celtic general manager Danny Angie said when she reviewed the summer of 2006.

Due to the suspension of the NBA that year, the teams were unable to inspect rookies on the spot, and could only rely on remote interviews and video materials. Danny Angie, known for her cold-blooded voice, said that he did not completely make up his mind until he actually met Rondo.

After the video meeting, Angie made a decisive decision in exchange for the point guard who left a deep mark in Boston.

In the impression of many old fans, Rondo's label is full of controversy. Some people say he is the younger brother of the Big Three, some people think he is the overrated point guard after leaving the superstar, and there are also those unruly and conflicts with the coach.

But after retiring, Rondo looks more like a microcosm story from genius to veteran, from arrogance to knowing how to sacrifice. This life trajectory is almost a perfect textbook about growth.

Rondo has been smart since childhood and is good at math, but because he lacks fatherly love since childhood, he has never learned how to get along with his predecessors. At the beginning of this story, he was unwilling to trust others, but only himself. Whether in high school or college, he is the smartest brain in the team, but he is also labeled as a thorn because it is difficult to get along with.

Luckily, fate quickly pushed him into the spotlight. In the second year of his career, the arrival of the Big Three changed everything. Rondo, who has strong learning ability, is like a sponge, absorbing everything professional players should have from Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen. He has tasted the taste of a championship at the age of 22.

But this success also made him more proud. Rondo, who was unstable at the time, publicly claimed that he was a stronger guard than Chris Paul, and mocked the other side in person "I have a championship, you don't"; and Paul was even angry that he chased him to the locker room after the game. Rondo has had conflicts with almost everyone in the team and even the coaches with an introverted personality. Champion coach Rivers once said bluntly:

"Rondo is the most difficult player I have ever led."

In the eyes of Garnett and Pierce, Rondo is the kind of younger brother who can entrust the team. The two big brothers are willing to hand the ball to him and make him the new core of the team.

But Ray Allen is an exception. As a representative of discipline from a military family, the self-discipline standard is his creed. Compared with Pierce and Garnett, there is no loyal brotherhood between him and Rondo. On the contrary, as Rondo gradually became the core of tactics, Allen Ray began to feel the threat of his status.

So, the interior of the Celtics locker room quietly split. On one hand, Garnett and Pierce were elected by Rondo, and on the other hand, Ray Allen, who adhered to his own standards.

Of course, their conflicts are not reflected on the court. On the court, Rondo will still pass the ball to Ray Allen, who also performs his pitching duties; but off the court, the two are just colleagues. Rondo will imitate Ray Allen's self-discipline and learn his training methods, but the opposition between each other's personalities is destined to prevent them from reaching the level of brotherhood.

In the end, Ray Allen became the prelude to the disintegration of the Big Three.

In 2013, Rondo ushered in the biggest blow in his life: a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Rondo had just played his peak season that year and was selected as the All-Star starter for the first time, but he could only watch the big brothers struggle to support him from the sidelines. When he came back, the team sent Garnett and Pierce away overnight.

Rondo originally thought that he would one day take over the torch of the two elders, but the reality is that none of them could retire as the Celtics, and he had to bear the burden of the team leader alone in advance. During this difficult transition, Rondo was lucky to meet young coach Stevens.

For the young young coach and the thorny Rondo, many people think that the two will have a stumble sooner or later. But the young young coach knew how to lower his figure and gave Rondo enough respect to him, allowing him to get in touch with an unprecedented data analysis system for the first time. Rondo also continued to learn new tactical systems during his recovery period, gradually growing from a stadium commander to a tactical expert.

However, fate turned again.

Anji failed to create a new Big Three lineup as he wished, and the draw of lottery was unfavorable and the draft was misplaced. The Celtics completely embarked on the road of reconstruction. Rondo was sent to the Mavericks, and also fell to the bottom due to his conflict with Carlisle. After that, he went around like a wanderer, the Kings, the Bulls, and the Pelicans, and was once regarded as a troublemaker. But these ups and downs also smoothed the edges and corners of his body.

Rivers once commented on him like this:

"He will definitely become an excellent coach in the future, but only if he has to get rid of his bad temper."

Looking back at Rondo's career, half of his time was spent outside the Celtics, but Celtic fans should not forget this commander, who grew from a young point guard to a championship core, played a triple-double with injuries, defeated the Heat Big Three with one arm, and stood up for the fight for big brother Garnett. Even if he left Boston, the city was still his home.

This story is the most typical NBA microcosm. From genius controversy to injury drifting, from championship to transformation, he almost passed on all the ups and downs a player can experience, and what he finally left behind is no longer a cancer legend, but a true story about growth, persistence, and transformation.