Rajon Rondo not a fan of ‘Playoff Rondo’ nickname

The New Orleans Pelicans team is full of former Kentucky Wildcats. Their best player is, of course, Anthony Davis, but don’t forget about Rajon Rondo.

Rondo helped lead the Pelicans to a 4-0 sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers this past week, causing fans to bring back the nickname “Playoff Rondo”.

Rondo has always been known to seemingly turn it into another gear come playoff time and this year is no different.

The thing is...he hates being called “Playoff Rondo”.

According to New York Times’ Marc Stein, Rondo insisted “I’m Rondo. There’s no ‘Playoff Rondo.’”

The numbers back up the nickname. Rondo has been seemingly unstoppable each year in the NBA Playoffs. For his career, in the regular season Rondo averages 10.5 points, 8.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game. However, in the playoffs he averages 14.2 points, 9.2 assists, and 6 rebounds per game.

This is the case again this year as Rondo averaged 8.3 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game during the regular season. But in the first round sweep of the Trail Blazers, he averaged 11.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and an absurd 13.3 assists per game.

The reason could be that Rondo sees a significant increase in minutes per game in the playoffs. But doesn’t every team’s superstar? Rondo’s terrific performance in the first round is no fluke and don’t expect it to end when the Pelicans play the Golden State Warriors in the Conference Semifinals.

Rondo will look to take down the defending champs alongside fellow Kentucky guys Anthony Davis, Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, and the injured DeMarcus Cousins. And he’ll also be looking for a new nickname. Any ideas BBN?