Lakers 2020 champ reportedly extending stay with Doc Rivers' Bucks amid "guest coaching" stint
Rajon Rondo, a member of the 2020 LA Lakers NBA champion team, is expected to continue "guest coaching" with the Milwaukee Bucks as he tries to transition to a coaching career.
The 38-year-old four-time NBA All-Star is a "guest coach" under Bucks coach Doc Rivers, with whom he won his first NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008. He is helping facilitate activities as the team began training camp for the 2024-25 NBA season.
ESPN NBA senior writer Baxter Holmes shared on X, formerly Twitter, that Rondo is being considered by the Bucks to stay with them this season, with the backing of Rivers, who said:
"You'll see him (Rondo) a lot. That's all I'll say."
Rajon Rondo last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he averaged 6.2 points, 4.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds over 21 games played.
He played for 16 years in the NBA, with stops in Boston, LA Lakers, Sacramento, Chicago, New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, LA Clippers and Cleveland. He was a two-time champion and averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 957 career games.
Meanwhile, with the Bucks, Rondo will be part of a team which is out for redemption in the upcoming season. The Bucks' previous campaign sputtered in the postseason, with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined due to a left calf strain.
Rajon Rondo grateful to Bucks' Doc Rivers for opportunity to learn as coach
Rajon Rondo said he was grateful for the opportunity to learn the intricacies of coaching in the NBA under champion coach Doc Rivers with the Milwaukee Bucks. He shared that he still had a lot to learn but was looking forward to the challenge.
The two-time NBA champion spoke about this as he joined the Bucks as a "guest coach" for training camp on the invitation of Rivers, who is entering his second season as coach in Milwaukee.
Rondo said it has been a learning experience for him, saying (via ESPN):
"There's a lot of factors that go into coaching. You just can't say, I'm going to be a coach, and then everything works out and that's how it happens. So certain personalitiess have to mesh, [and there's] a lot of sacrifice. There are certain things that I'm learning. The morning meetings, the amount of hours you're spending watching film, it's a lot."
As a player, Rondo's basketball IQ was highly rated by his teammates and experts alike. The former point guard earned four nods as an NBA All-Star and lifted the NBA championship with the Boston Celtics (2008) and LA Lakers (2020).