Los Angeles Lakers newcomer Rajon Rondo recently came across a very interesting piece of history. The former Boston Celtics star learned just how Lakers legend Kobe Bryant defeated him and his Celtics in the Finals almost a decade ago. As it turns out, despite the incident happening eight long years ago, it still hit a nerve for the veteran point guard.
Speaking to Mike Trudell of NBA.com, Rondo shared how he felt when he first learned about Kobe's breakthrough during Game 7 of the 2010 Finals between the Lakers and the Celtics.
“It’s interesting, I just found out something about Kobe, what he did in the 2010 championship Game 7,” Rondo said. “How he broke the game down and figured out how to beat us. I can’t give you the insight on that, but I just found that out. Like, maybe 45 minutes ago. It kinda pissed me off a little bit. It’s part of it, but it’s craziness. It’s amazing how he thinks the game, and it’s fun to know that.”
As we all know, the Lakers took that series-clinching victory behind Bryant's 23-point, 15-rebound performance. Unfortunately, Rondo refused to expound on the details, but admitted it may have been an on-the-fly type of breakthrough moment for his former nemesis.
“I don’t know if it was going into the game, but it was told to me that he had to figure it out during the game,” he added. “He wasn’t himself. So he had to figure out a different way to win the game.”
When pushed to name his source, Rondo proved he was no snitch.
“Somebody. (laughs) I can’t give you my source,” he explained.
Perhaps that bit of information still remains relevant to this day, which is why Rondo is unwilling to speak openly about it. Whatever the case may be, all Lakers supporters can hope for is it somehow gives the 32-year-old some additional insight on how to help the team stack up wins this season.
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