- Rondo’s arrest video has surfaced, showing the moment he’s recognized him
- He has since reached a plea bargain on gun and marijuana charges in Indiana
Rajon Rondo’s arrest video has surfaced, showing the moment he’s recognized as a former NBA player by Indiana state troopers as he’s being apprehended on firearm and drug charges.
‘He’s a former basketball player,’ one officer is heard saying to another during the January 28 arrest in Jackson County, Indiana. ‘He played for a bunch of NBA teams.’
The same officer later downplays his excitement in the footage first obtained by TMZ: ‘Not that I care, I’m just telling you.’
According to Indiana State Police, the 38-year-old two-time NBA champion is facing misdemeanor firearm, drug paraphernalia and marijuana charges after being pulled over for ‘traveling recklessly.’
The 38-year-old reached a plea bargain with authorities in September, resulting in probation.
Rajon Rondo is seen speaking with officers on January 28 in southern Indiana
Rondo had a passenger riding in his car at the time, but the person hasn’t been identified
Indiana state police are seen cuffing Rajon Rondo about an hour from his native Louisville
He was initially stopped for failing to properly display his license on his black Tesla sedan, which one officer described as a ‘nice car.’
When a trooper smelled marijuana, a search was initiating resulting in the discovery of the gun and drug paraphernalia, Indiana State Police spokesperson Sargeant Stephen Wheeles said in a statement.
Rondo was frisked and placed into the police cruiser, where he confessed to having marijuana in his vehicle.
The two-time NBA champion is asked at one point if he was an NBA player, with an excited officer replying ‘wow’ when Rondo confirmed his former profession.
The arrest took place in southern Indiana about an hour’s drive from his native Louisville.
The former Boston Celtics star is prohibited from carrying a firearm due to a 2022 no-contact order.
Rajon Rondo officially announced his retirement from the NBA after 16 seasons on Tuesday
Rajon Rondo appears with Ashley Bachelor in 2012, when he was with the Boston Celtics
Ashley Bachelor, Rondo’s ex-partner and mother of his children, filed the emergency protection order against him after he allegedly brandished a gun during an argument over their son.
In June of 2022, the two parties reached an agreement and a judge dismissed the petition, but according to Wheeles, Rondo remained prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The Louisville native played three seasons at Kentucky before being drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2006 and subsequently playing nine seasons for the Celtics. He’d become a crucial starter and extraordinary defensive presence in Boston, where he’d win an NBA title in 2008.
Rondo eventually bounced from the Dallas Mavericks to the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers, for whom he’d win a second NBA title in 2020. Rondo finished his career with stints in Atlanta, LA and Cleveland.
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