The former Boston Celtics point guard won a title with Doc Rivers in 2008
The coaching staff just keeps growing for Doc Rivers and the Milwaukee Bucks. According to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, Rivers has brought in his former All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo as a guest coach during Bucks training camp:
NEWS: Rajon Rondo, eying an NBA coaching career, joins Bucks as a guest coach during camp. Doc Rivers told ESPN that Rondo will remain with the team in an unspecified capacity this season. “You’ll see him a lot,” Rivers said. “That’s all I’ll say.” https://t.co/AyAuzLkwTn
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) October 3, 2024
The process all started this past June at Rondo’s wedding in Italy when Rivers, who was attending, told Rajon, “get your ass to camp.” Rondo has spent the past week with the Bucks at their training camp at UC-Irvine, and according to Rivers, the team intends on keeping Rondo on for an unspecified amount of time and in an unspecified manner. The former 16-year NBA vet formally retired this past April having not playing a game since 2022 when he was part of the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Rondo said he hopes to be an NBA coach someday.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into coaching,” Rondo said to ESPN. “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 personalities 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.”
At every stop of his basketball career (prep, college, and pro), his coaches have noted a proclivity for analysis and understanding the game which would bode well for a coaching role down the road. Rivers noted the same when Rondo was one of his players, so it is perhaps natural that the two ended up together in Milwaukee with Rondo retired.
“He’s the smartest player I’ve ever coached — and not just smart,” Rivers told ESPN. “He knows when to and when not to say stuff. He’s a great team builder. It’s just fun, and it’s great to have him around.”
We’ll see how Rondo is involved once the team returns from California when they take on the Detroit Pistons this Sunday, Oct. 6, and for the rest of the season. Whatever his role is, we welcome Rondo as a friendly face in Milwaukee for the first time in his storied career.