Former Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo is now in elite company after winning his second NBA title.
That he’s won two rings is in itself an impressive feat, given the long list of NBA greats who never won a single title.
That he won them with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers is something that’s been done only once before.
The rivalry between the two clubs over the years may explain that in part, but when you consider the two franchises have more titles than any other teams in NBA history and that they’ve shared plenty of players over the course of their careers, it is remarkable it hasn’t happened more.
Rajon Rondo joins Clyde Lovellete as the only players to win a championship with the Lakers and the Celtics (2008). Clyde Lovellette won with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1953-54 and with Boston in 1962-63 & 1963-64. pic.twitter.com/6NWQqZ9B9r
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) October 12, 2020
The man who did it first?
That would be center Clyde Lovellette, drafted by the (then) Minneapolis Lakers (now, Los Angeles), winning a title with that team in 1954.
After stints with the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings) and (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks, the latter team would sell his rights to Boston in 1962.
Lovellette would win two more titles with the Celtics in 1963 and 1964, the sole person to do so until Sunday night.
Rondo can lay claim to the fact he is the only person to win rings with both Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers, Lovellette having won his title with the organization when it was based in Minneapolis.
Per NBA, Rondo is NOT the only player to win a title for both the Lakers and Celtics – Clyde Lovellette won a title in 1954 with the Lakers and in ’62 and ’63 with the Celtics.
The Lakers’ title was in Minneapolis, so Rondo is the first player to win titles in LA and Boston.
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) October 12, 2020
The Kentucky product won his first ring with Boston against the Lakers in 2008, in another interesting wrinkle.
The victory does two things for Celtics fans.
First, it makes those with visceral hatred for the Lakers have to reckon with the uncomfortable fact beyond being tied with the Lakers in total titles won, and gives credence if not assurance of a potential Hall of Fame nomination for Rondo.
And that, friends, is a topic for another day.
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