Comparing Rajon Rondo To Magic Johnson: A Legend in the Making?

While watching the Boston Celtics play the New York Knicks the other night, I could not help but think of Magic Johnson when I saw Rajon Rondo dish out 24 assists while putting up a triple double en route to a win.

There are, of course, many differences between the way Magic played versus Rondo’s game. For instance, Magic stood eight inches taller at 6’9” which allowed him to see over the defenses while playing point guard.

Magic was one of the few players in NBA history that could dominate all five positions on the court. With his larger stature, Magic Johnson developed one of the best post games of any guard to ever play. 

By comparison, Rajon Rondo’s game focuses more on speed as he is one of the quickest players in the NBA. Magic may have led the Lakers’ “Showtime” fast breaks but he was never known as one of the fastest players in the league.

While both players were known as ball thieves, Rondo plays a more suffocating style of defense than Magic ever did. Consequently Rondo has made the all-defensive team the past two years, a feat never accomplished by Johnson.

With his 6’1” frame, Rondo will never be the post presence that Magic was.

Despite these differences, the way Rondo ran the offense against the Knicks was certainly impressive. The way Rajon set up his teammates for easy looks at the basket was reminiscent of the way Magic made his teammates better.

Similar to Magic Johnson, Rondo serves as the engine that makes the Boston Celtics offense run. The Celtics have other great players and legends on the team, such as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Glen Davis and Shaquille O’Neal.

However, take Rondo off the team and the Celtics offense would become much more stagnant and would flow less fluidly.

Some people discredit Magic Johnson’s legacy by saying he played with other great players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Byron Scott and James Worthy. However, if Johnson was taken away from those Lakers teams, the Lakers would not have won those championships in the 1980s.

The games of Wilkes, Scott and Worthy were enhanced by the offensive style run by Johnson, and Kareem was able to prolong his career into his 40s.

Similarly, Rondo’s ability to make his teammates better is effectively extending the careers of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal and Kevin Garnett. Like Johnson, the true essence and value of Rondo’s game is his ability to transform a good team into a title contender.

Rondo’s game against the Knicks was truly remarkable, as his 24 assists has only been surpassed 15 times in NBA history. No other player has put up more assists in a game and recorded a triple double, and only NBA legend Isiah Thomas had a triple double with 24 assists.

The scary part is that Rondo is just 24 years old. He will have plenty more opportunities to rack up high assist numbers in games. Perhaps one day he will break the Celtics record of 28 held by Bob Cousy, or the NBA mark of 30 set by Scott Skiles.

It is remarkable that like Magic Johnson, Rondo is able to elevate his game during the playoffs. Everyone witnessed his dominance last year when he averaged 16.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 9.8 apg and 2.5 spg over 14 games against the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic.

In addition, his five triple doubles in the postseason are already good for sixth place all time.

It is likely that Rondo will continue to improve throughout his career. If he can work on his outside shot and free throws, Rondo has the potential to become the undisputed best point guard in the league.

Even if one isn’t a Boston Celtics fan, all basketball enthusiasts should appreciate the game of Rajon Rondo and the other top playmakers in the NBA.