It was nearly a decade ago when the Miami Heat practically closed the Boston Celtics’ championship window in 2012. The Heat eliminated Celtics after seven games, which ended a four-man faction of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and 26 year-old point guard Rajon Rondo.
With the departure of Allen, who would be the first to depart from Boston after signing with Miami in free agency and just one season later, general manager Danny Ainge would send his two remaining Hall-of-Fame candidates, Pierce and Garnett, to the Brooklyn Nets.
The final member left of the Celtics’ Big Four was Rondo, who was limited to 30 games after a torn right ACL ended his season in 2013. And after nine years, his tenure in Boston would ultimately come to an end, thus being traded to the Dallas Mavericks the year after.
After short stints in Dallas, Sacramento, New Orleans, and most notably, Chicago — where he was most notably teammates with Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler in the 2016-17 season — Rondo would eventually suit up for a former longtime rival, the Los Angeles Lakers.
As a key contributor in their 2020 NBA Finals run, Rondo would win his second-career NBA title as the Lakers defeated Miami in six games.