Rajon Rondo: 9 Reasons the Boston Celtics Point Guard Is a Franchise NBA Player

Who was the first NBA player to register a triple-double in this lockout-shortened season? 

Rajon Rondo. 

Should NBA fans and observers be surprised? 

Not really—after all, last season Rondo was one of only four players with three or more triple-doubles in the entire league. He had three along with Russell Westbrook and Andre Iguodala. LeBron James led all players with four triple-doubles. 

While Chris Paul garnered the lion's share of attention in the offseason and dominated headlines following his trade to Los Angeles (both of them), as an all-around player he's not in the same class as Rondo, Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. 

That's not a slight against Paul, who is a fantastic player, but it's also worth noting that when it comes to all-around point guard skills and potential, there aren't any players in the league better than Westbrook, Rose and Rondo—and of those three players, Rondo has the most room for improvement. 

When the Boston Celtics signed Rondo to a five-year $55 million extension in November of 2009, there was much consternation among Celtic fans. 

Was Rondo really the point guard of the future? Could a player who at that point had never averaged more than 12 points per game really be worth more than $10 million a year? 

Even after last season, a season in which Rondo improved by leaps and bounds, there were still very valid concerns. Rondo couldn't shoot. He had explosive athletic ability that allowed him to get to the basket effectively but his outside shooting, three-point shooting and free-throw shooting all were subpar. Even a pass-first type of point guard needed to be somewhat of a scoring threat to be effective, right? 

Well as this season develops, it's beginning to look as if the primary concerns of Celtics fans might be what happens when that five-year extension expires at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 season? Rondo could be a true franchise player by then and command a high salary. In fact, Rondo could be considered a "franchise" type of player before this season concludes if he continues to produce in the manner he has so far. 

Open-Court Quickness

If you've watched a Celtic game this season there have been a number of things that have stood out. Some of these things are good and some aren't so good, but one thing that is not deniable is that the quickest player on the court in every game has been named Rajon Rondo.

In a league that has always placed a premium on quickness at the guard position, watching Rondo weave through defenders with ease or race out ahead of them on his way to the basket elicits memories of some of the league's quickest end-to-end players. 

Anyone that saw players like Isiah Thomas or Allen Iverson play in their primes knows exactly what I'm talking about, and while Rondo won't ever be as lethal offensively as Iverson, it's hard to not think of Isiah at times when you see him on the court. 

Thomas had better numbers, especially the scoring ones, but Rondo has never been anything beyond the fourth option on offense to this point in his career. Thomas also played during a time in which the NBA was much more of a fast-break-up-and-down-the-court type of league. At least, that is until his own Pistons set about slowing down the league in the late 1980s.

Rondo's quickness certainly isn't the only reason he can be a franchise player in the NBA, but it's definitely a major advantage for him on the court.  

Hustle

The NBA has always had great athletes but what has often made great athletes great players has been the willingness to exert extra effort when needed. 

Rajon Rondo may have a fairly unique skill set, but he also has competitive drive and on-court focus that nearly every great player possesses. 

Rondo isn't afraid to dive across the court for a loose ball or throw himself into the crowd in an effort to corral a ball headed out of bounds. 

Those types of plays don't really show up on stat sheets but his teammates notice them; his opponents notice them as well.

For Rondo to become one of the league's truly great players, he must not only improve on some tangible basketball skills; he must also continue to display the intangible skills that other great players throughout NBA history have as well.  

Rebounding

When you play point guard rebounding isn't really top priority. Yet, rebounding is critical to any team's success and while a point guard's primary focus my be running the offense as well as defending the opposition's point guard, a little help on the boards won't ever be something that won't be appreciated. 

Rajon Rondo has been in the top five in rebounding among point guards the past two seasons, averaging a very respectable 4.4 per game.

This season Rondo has displayed a newfound enthusiasm for crashing the boards. He's currently averaging six rebounds per game, placing him second in the NBA among point guards. On a team that has a weakness at the center position, Rondo has identified an area where his team needs his production to increase and so far has done just that.  

Scoring

While a point guard's No. 1 focus is generally creating opportunities for his teammates to score, in order to do that effectively the point guard really needs to be at the very least a threat to score. 

In the past Rondo was a threat. That was about all he was, though. 

Entering this season he is a career 10.8-point-per-game scorer. His career high had been a modest 13.7 points per game in the 2009-2010 season. 

This season as the youngest of four stars in the starting five, Rondo has been able to sense a need to increase his scoring output. 

Rondo is off to a great start in point production, averaging 16.5 points per game, good for seventh among all NBA point guards and fewer than four points behind the best in the league. 

Will Rondo continue to score at a career-high pace? That's a good question, but playing on a team with a Hall of Fame shooter in Ray Allen and a Hall of Fame scorer in Paul Pierce, their health will go a long way in determining whether or not Rondo needs to keep pushing his point totals higher. 

Improved Shooting

As important as scoring is, scoring efficiently is what's most important.

It's one thing to take shots; taking good shots, however, and making them is far more important. 

In the past Rondo may have been a weak scorer but he was a very weak shooter. His quickness had always allowed him to get to the basket to take and make easy shots, but when the defenses got tough and forced him to take outside shots or fouled him and sent him the the free-throw line, that was when his shooting deficiencies were magnified. 

Rondo has a respectable 48.7 percent career field-goal percentage but when his three-point shooting and free-throw numbers come into play, a different picture is painted. 

He's a career 24.8 percent three-point shooter and a career 62.3 percent free-throw shooter. Neither number is impressive; in fact, both are poor. 

The three-point numbers are especially poor because Rondo's three-point attempts are usually wide open shots. That's both a product of being on a team with one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time (Ray Allen) and Paul Pierce, who isn't shy about attempting them as well. The presence of those two players means that when it comes to defending the three-point shot, defenses would much prefer to allow Rondo to shoot from outside than some of his teammates. 

Rondo won't ever be a great three-point shooter, but if he could become a greater threat, not only would it increase his own scoring output, but it might create some more opportunities for his much more dangerous three-point-shooting teammates.

This season he's been just that—shooting 3-of-7 from three-point range and as well as an even more impressive 54.4 percent from the floor overall.  

Toughness

Toughness is, of course, something that can't be seen on stat lines. 

It can, however, be witnessed by fans, media and peers. 

That's exactly what happened on May 7th, 2011, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat. 

Rondo become entangled with Heat guard Dwyane Wade in the third quarter and both men went to the floor. Rondo's elbow was dislocated in the process. He was helped off the floor and anyone that witnessed the injury would have naturally assumed he was done for the night. 

That wasn't the case, though. Rondo reemerged at the start of the fourth quarter and it wasn't just a token appearance for inspiration either. Rondo contributed in the fourth quarter as well, and the Celtics won the game. After the game his teammate Kevin Garnett was more than just a little impressed with Rondo's toughness. 

"

"When he came in, it was just typical Rondo. Shorty is a really tough, young individual and I don't know what he's going to be like when he's 35, but right now he's playing through a lot. He's showing a lot of heart, a lot of grit. We see it. That doesn't go unspoken or unseen. We see he's out there giving his full effort. We're following that lead."

"

That's a future Hall of Fame power forward with a reputation for being somewhat tough himself lavishing praise on a much younger player. 

Defense

Here's something that Rondo has always been: a real pain in the you-know-what to deal with on defense. 

Blessed with big hands, quick feet and long arms and legs along with a relentless drive, Rondo is not someone that anyone wants to see playing defense against them. 

If you're smaller, then his length can be downright disruptive and even if you're taller and more physically imposing, he still can be tough to deal with. 

In spite of his lanky build, Rondo is very strong. It's not a coincidence that his head coach Doc Rivers has chosen Rondo to defend LeBron James at times when the Celtics are matched up with the Heat. 

No, Rondo can't shut down James—no one can do that—but it speaks volumes about his athletic ability as well as his passion for playing good defense that a point guard would be chosen to defend the league's most talented small forward. 

Rondo was second among all point guards in steals last season and he led the entire NBA in steals per game in the 2009-2010 season. 

Defense isn't just important on a man-to-man shutdown basis either. When a team's best or most gifted player is also setting the standard on defense, that's critical for the rest of the team. It also will help teams that may experience scoring droughts or any sort of offensive malaise. 

Rondo isn't just a great defender; he sets the standard for his team as well. 

The Assist

If a point guard's primary job is to pass the ball, then in order for Rondo to be considered an "elite" or "franchise" player, he'd have to be good at that, right? 

No problem. Rondo is an excellent passer. 

Last season he was one of only three players to average above 10 assists per game. He's averaging over 10 per game this season as well so far. 

The simple fact is that as a point guard, he's got a great amount of influence over how well his team performs on the court. The great point guards don't just put up gaudy assist numbers; their teams win as well.

Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton—all of them led teams to the NBA Finals. Rondo already has that on his resume and the Celtics have been quite successful with Rondo at the point. The future of the Celtics may be a bit up in the air at this point, but the point guard position appears to be one of the few givens. 

Continued Improvement

Natural ability is great. It's not enough, though. 

The NBA is full of elite athletes and even though Rondo may sit near the top of the considerable athletic heap in the league, he still must get better. New players are arriving every year, the league also has one of the most gifted groups of point guards in league. In order for Rondo to prevent other players from surpassing him he's going to have to be determined to continually improve.

As daunting as that sounds, it's also exactly what he's done to this point in his career. 

Nearly every key statistic has improved in some manner since he first arrived in the league. Some have improved considerably. Some have been a bit more shaky, but nearly all have improved in some manner. The only exception has been his free-throw shooting, which Rondo must improve upon. 

Still, his willingness to work toward improvement coupled with his athleticism, toughness and talent all have created a player who is not just a franchise point guard now, but could easily be one for quite a few years in the future.