NBA: LeBron James pays tribute to 'out of this world' Rajon Rondo as he announces retirement after 16-year career

LeBron James paid tribute to Rajon Rondo after the point guard announced his retirement following a 16-year career in the NBA.

Rondo is a four-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion, but has not featured since the 2021/22 season when he played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 38-year-old officially called time on a career which also took in spells with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Speaking about Rondo after the Lakers’ win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, James said in quotes published by ESPN: "One of the best players I ever played with.

“Obviously his IQ is out of this world and I was very lucky to get to team up with him at that point here when I was in LA.

“He was a fierce competitor throughout my career when he was in Boston, and obviously [we had] our battles when I was in Cleveland and then going to Miami."

In total, Rondo averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 957 career games across a stellar career.

Aside from those impressive numbers, Rondo claimed the most steals per game across the 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2015/16 campaigns, and won two NBA titles with the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers in 2007/08 and 2019/20 respectively.

When Rondo was asked if his career was finished on the

podcast, he replied: "Absolutely. Yeah, I'm done. I can't. I'd rather spend time with my kids.

"What a time, it was definitely something that I never took for granted when I was in the game.

"I loved every minute of it, and I appreciate the brotherhood that I was able to share and bond and grow with over the years.

"I've learned so much in this game and it's made me the man who I am today. I tell people all the time, this wasn't a dream of mine, it was a goal.

"I was able to lock in, stay disciplined, I didn't party a lot in college. But it was worth the sacrifice of me getting to where I wanted to be in life."

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