Rajon Rondo becomes second player in NBA history to win a championship with both Lakers and Celtics

With the Los Angeles Lakers successful their 17th NBA championship on Sunday, nearly half of the 73 NBA champions have been both the Lakers or the Boston Celtics. The league’s two most completed franchises monopolize titles and infrequently battle one another within the Finals for the trophy, however there is not a lot intermingling between the 2 of them. On Sunday, Rajon Rondo grew to become simply the second participant ever to win a championship with each the Lakers and the Celtics. 

Who was first? That may be Clyde Lovellette. He gained his first championship with George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers in 1954, after which gained two extra alongside Invoice Russell on the Celtics in 1963 and 1964. Lovellette was a four-time All-Star and was inducted into the Corridor of Fame in 1988. 

Rondo is the primary participant ever to win a championship with the Los Angeles model of the Lakers and the Celtics. That Boston championship got here, sarcastically, towards the Lakers. His Celtics defeated Kobe Bryant and the Lakers within the 2008 NBA Finals. In successful the 2020 title for the Lakers, Rondo helped his new crew tie his previous one when it comes to all-time titles. The Lakers and Celtics each have 17 championships to their names now. 

Rondo was already an attention-grabbing Corridor of Fame candidate earlier than this season. His peak was quick, however explosive. He made 4 All-Star, like Lovellette, however all of them got here in Boston. He has been one thing of a nomad since then, taking part in for Dallas, Sacramento, Chicago and New Orleans earlier than touchdown in Los Angeles. Now, he is made NBA historical past, and it could possibly be the ultimate piece of his Corridor of Fame resume.