LeBron James, at 40 years old and with 22 seasons of basketball under his belt, is widely regarded as the greatest mind in NBA history. However, he is not a floor general in the true sense of the word and appreciates players who can orchestrate an offense purely with their leadership and vision.
In 2010, James signed with the Miami Heat to form the most famous "Big Three" in NBA history, although he admits that it was because the Boston Celtics had a dominant roster that he couldn't beat alone. While he, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade made up an elite trio, he argues that the Celtics had four elite players.
"You look at the big four that Boston had, you know, everybody talked about the big three, but everybody always decides that for some odd reason that Rondo wasn't as great as Rondo was," said LeBron James on ESPN. "It's always just the big three."
Rondo made four All-Star Games with Boston and played a pivotal role on their two Finals-bound teams and championship in 2008.
After his time with the Celtics, he spent a season with the Sacramento Kings, leading the league with 11.7 assists and helping DeMarcus Cousins blossom into an All-Star.
James argues that Rondo has always allowed his teammates to play to their strengths, and Rondo won a ring alongside James on the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.
"They say the big three but f------ Rondo, he was a dog," James continued. "He brought it all. He made it all work with those guys because Ray wasn't bringing the ball up, you had Ray flying around, you have Paul when he gets it at a certain spot and Paul was a killer and then you had KG anchoring the defense and also you throw it to the low post. But they all started with the mind and that was Rondo."
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Rondo, Chris Paul, and Steve Nash are the last great true point guards. Stephen Curry has changed what a PG can do, but Tyrese Haliburton and Trae Yong (to an extent) are looking to follow in Rondo's footsteps as true pass-first guards, highlighting his influence beyond just Boston and Sacramento.
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This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM.