Point guard Rajon Rondo is one of the latest additions to the Los Angeles Lakers and yet another veteran player being brought in to help the franchise bring home another NBA Championship.
Rondo, of course, was crucial to the team’s title run in 2020 and at this stage of his career, winning championships is all that matters.
Following the 2020 season, Rondo would leave the Lakers to join the Atlanta Hawks on a $15 million contract, an amount of money the Lakers just couldn’t match. But the fit in Atlanta just wasn’t ideal and Rondo was dealt to the L.A. Clippers, where he seemed to clash with their stars as well.
Now back with the Lakers, Rondo is again with one of the championship favorites and that breeds some extra motivation from the veteran. “Absolutely. I think I’m one of the most competitive guys in the league and I love to win. Being put in a situation now where we have an opportunity to win a championship and there’s only a handful of teams that can say it at the beginning of training camp and we’re one of them this year.”
Adding even more motivation for Rondo is all of the doubters who are calling the Lakers too old to win a ring. “I look forward to again proving people wrong that age doesn’t make a difference. A lot of our guys on the team have a lot left in the tank and going against all odds and getting it done.”
Rondo, along with the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington and reportedly DeAndre Jordan, are all veteran additions made this offseason by the Lakers that have led many to make jokes about the age of the current roster.
But this has only served to motivate the Lakers even more coming into the season. As Rondo noted, these players still have a lot left and have shown that they can still contribute in a big way. The NBA Championship is the ultimate motivator and this Lakers team plans on coming together to accomplish that goal.
Rondo says wisdom is key to winning championships
One thing the Lakers absolutely have in spades is experience and wisdom on their roster and Rondo believes that is the key to winning championships.
“Wisdom is definitely a key to winning a championship and we have a lot of that obviously with the age and experience on the court… I’m looking to the naysayers saying about our age as being a problem, but obviously, you don’t have longevity in this league with having discipline, and so many guys, I just got done talking to Trevor, he’s in for 17 [years], Dwight 18, Bron 18. So we have the guys that have a lot of mileage, but at the same time, there’s a reason they’re still playing in this league at this level for so many years.
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