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Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.
As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
Here’s a look at someone who achieved the rare feat of winning the NBA championship with both the Lakers and the Boston Celtics — Rajon Rondo.
Rondo was the No. 21 pick in the 2006 draft by the Phoenix Suns. Interestingly, the pick they used to take him was originally owned by the Lakers, who traded it away in 2004. The Suns then traded his draft rights to Boston on draft day, along with Brian Grant, for a 2007 first-rounder.
The speedy guard quickly emerged as a promising prospect, especially when the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and beat the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals. Two years later, Rondo earned his first of four All-Star selections by averaging 13.7 points, 9.8 assists and a league-high 2.3 steals a game. He helped the Celtics get to the brink of another world title before it blew a 13-point third-quarter lead in Game 7 of the 2010 finals to the Lakers.
Once that Celtics core dissolved, Rondo bounced around from team to team before L.A. signed him in 2018, the same year it landed LeBron James. A year later, Anthony Davis arrived, and the team had the ingredients to go after the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
During the 2019-20 season, Rondo was a spark plug off the bench. He averaged 7.1 points and 5.0 assists in 20.5 minutes a game, and he helped the Lakers speed up the pace of the game while providing them with another facilitator other than James. With his help, they earned the NBA’s grand prize inside the Walt Disney World Resort bubble.
Rondo returned to L.A. for one more season with the Purple and Gold during that disastrous 2021-22 season. After 18 games with them, they traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he finished the season and ended his NBA career.
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