Rajon Rondo has long been known as an elite facilitator in the NBA, but it has been his stat-sheet-stuffing contributions in the early stages of this season that have people buzzing about his potential resurgence to All-Star form.
In the Kings first 13 games this season, the nine-year-pro from Kentucky has already racked up a whopping four triple-doubles. All four of these performances have also occurred in his last seven games.
To further put into perspective just how impressive Rondo has been, the most triple-doubles recorded in one season for any Kings player in the Sacramento era is five - a number Rajon would have already tied had he recorded one more rebound against Miami on Thursday night.
On top of his already strong showing against the Heat, Rondo also tied a Sacramento-era record with his 18 assists in that same game.
The current Kings record for triple-doubles, as it stands, was set by forward Chris Webber in 2005, but with the pace at which Rondo is racking up triple-doubles, it may not stand for much longer.
“I worked my (butt) off this summer and I’m continuing to get better. Now, I still have room to improve. I want to improve my shooting, my free throw shooting, keeping my turnovers down. I still have a lot of room to grow,” said Rondo following the team’s game in Miami.
This hot streak for Sacramento’s floor general is reminiscent of his days in Boston, where he collected several notable accolades. Rondo’s resume includes: four All-Star selections, an All-NBA Third team appearance, two NBA All-Defensive First team selections and one NBA All-Defensive Second team nod, while capturing two NBA assists leader seasons.
Even while a member of the Celtics, however, No. 9 rarely strung together games of this caliber in this short of a timespan. Over his seven seasons in Boston, Rondo notched 22 triple doubles and has had four in a single month only once in his career before arriving in Sacramento. With six games still left on the schedule for the Kings in November, the window is wide open for him to top his own personal record.
<script class="_nbaVideoPlayerScout" data-team="kings" data-videoId="/video/teams/kings/2015/11/12/1447310899147-Rondo32_DETHL.mov-111249" data-width="768" data-height="732" src="https://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/sc
No Kings point guard has also ever recorded multiple triple-doubles in their time with Sacramento, making Rondo the first to do so. In fact, since 1985, the only other players besides him to compile multiple triple-doubles in a season have been Webber, DeMarcus Cousins, and Brad Miller.
It has gotten to the point where Rajon has become a threat to light up the box score on any given night, earning him a nickname that is becoming increasingly utilized and even more fitting: Mr. Triple Double.
Next Up
