- Video of Rondo’s arrest has emerged, showing the moment he recognized him.
- He has since reached a plea deal on gun and marijuana possession charges in Indiana.
Video of Rajon Rondo’s arrest has emerged, showing the moment Indiana State Troopers recognize him as a former NBA player while arresting him on firearms and drug charges.
“He’s a former basketball player,” one officer is heard saying to another during the Jan. 28 arrest in Jackson County, Indiana. “He played for several NBA teams.”
The same officer later downplays his enthusiasm in 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 faces misdemeanor charges for possession of firearms, drug paraphernalia and marijuana after being pulled over for “reckless travel.”
The 38-year-old reached a deal with authorities in September, which resulted in his release on probation.
Rajon Rondo is seen speaking with officers on January 28 in southern Indiana.
Rondo had a passenger in his car at the time, but the person has not been identified.
Indiana State Police are seen handcuffing Rajon Rondo about an hour from his native Louisville.
He was initially stopped for not properly displaying his license in his black Tesla sedan, which an officer described as a “nice car.”
When a trooper smelled marijuana, a search was initiated that resulted in the discovery of the gun and drug paraphernalia, Indiana State Police spokesman Sergeant Stephen Wheeles said in a statement.
Rondo was frisked and placed in the police cruiser, where he confessed to having marijuana in his vehicle.
At one point, the two-time NBA champion is asked if he was an NBA player, and an excited official responded “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 on Tuesday after 16 seasons.
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 protective order against him after he allegedly brandished a gun during an argument about their son.
In June 2022, the two sides reached a settlement and a judge dismissed the petition, but according to Wheeles, Rondo was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The Louisville native played three seasons at Kentucky before being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2006 and subsequently played nine seasons for the Celtics. He had become a crucial starter and extraordinary defensive presence in Boston, where he would win an NBA title in 2008.
Rondo eventually moved on from the Dallas Mavericks to the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers, for whom he would win a second NBA title in 2020. Rondo finished his career with stints in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Cleveland.
