"If we get Miami, I got Spo... Boston, you got Brad": Rajon Rondo recalls LeBron James' master plan to prepare for 2020 finals
Rajon Rondo and LeBron James are widely regarded as two of the most cerebral NBA players of their generation. Naturally, when they came together to lead the Lakers to a championship in 2020, the application of their combined basketball IQs proved to be key to the Lakers success.
Rondo, a crafty veteran at the time - renowned for his "Playoff Rondo" tag too - revealed how James and he worked in tandem to strategize for the playoffs and how they anticipated match-ups.
Unlike how normal players think, it seems these two stars preferred planning their approach on the basis of the opposition coach's tactics and not on their personal matchups.
With so many years of professional success, LeBron James and Rajon Rondo have reached a position of relative comfort in the game. They played at their pace, and their incredible game management let them take games by the scruff at will.
This narration by Rondo only goes to show fans how players of the ilk of Rondo and James are rare even within the NBA.
On The Old Man and The Three, Rajon Rondo spoke about the preparation in the bubble for the 2020 NBA Finals with LeBron James.
"We were in the bubble, me and Bron were in the bubble watching the game. I think it was Miami and Boston again, and we were sitting in the room watching the game and like I said it went down the wire so LeBron's like "if we get Miami, I got Spo and if we get Boston, you got Brad," said Rondo about LeBron James' and his approach to the 2020 NBA Finals.
"So that was kind of my mindset, it wasn't like, oh we're going to beat the Heat, we're going to beat the Celtics. It was more so if we can outplay the coaches on that staff," added Rajon Rondo.
Rajon Rondo and LeBron James allotted their former coaches to each other
James and Rondo may have had mixed emotions watching the possibility of their former coaches taking the same franchises they played for to the NBA Finals. But both stars were also probably relieved, knowing that each of them has an ace up their sleeve with respect to dealing with their former coaches.
Rondo is practically out of the league, and LeBron James is arguably on his last legs. The possibility of the two stars coming back to the league as coaches is not to be dismissed.
Their style of playing to the tactical setup of coaches as opposed to player matchups is only a reflection of the cerebral nature of their games.
There is hope that both stars turn out to be good coaches, but then again, it does seem to be a completely different ball game if examples like Isiah Thomas are to be believed.