After sitting by a lake on one of the most beautiful days in Illinois, the talk of the NBA arose like it normally does with this particular crowd. One member asked if Rajon Rondo, the new Pelicans backup point guard, could be a hall of famer. My immediate reaction was absolutely not, but he believed that Rondo could be someone inducted eventually.
In this particular post, I would like to dedicate the post to him.
My hope is that others and him who read this will walk away from their screens and know in their heart that Rondo will never be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Can't make it based off of assist totals
Let's take a look at the all time leader board in career assists. As of now, Rondo's 6,075 career assists rank 34th on the list. That is nowhere near where it would need to be. However, at age 31, that total is surely going to grow. Where we are headed with this is the top ten players in this category. These following players make the top ten in career assists: John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Mark Jackson, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton, Andre Miller, and Chris Paul.
Out of those ten players, five of them are hall of famers. That total will increase to eight when Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Paul are eligible. Think about it this way though. Jackson has 10,334 career assists, and is not in the hall of fame. Miller has 8,524 career assists and will surely not get in. All of the other players mentioned above were more than guys that could make passes.
Can't be one dimensional
Jackson couldn't shoot and didn't win games. Miller led the league in assists one time in his career and played until he was 39 years old. Both of these guys were one dimensional players. They were pass first type of players. Jackson averaged 9.6 assists in his career. Rondo has averaged 10.7 assists in his career, which is not that much better.
Rondo has the potential to finish in the top ten in all time assists, but his career will reflect that of Miller's career. He will always have been a steady point guard that could distribute the ball, but that was all they could do. Can you imagine a life where players like Johnson, Robertson, or Paul averaged just over 10 points a game?
Absolutely not because they are all around great players. They could score, play defense, and distribute. Those qualities are why they are in the hall of fame. Being inducted into the hall of fame means you were one of the greatest all around players. Rondo will only go down as one of the better point guards in NBA history.