After watching the Denver Nuggets come back from down 3-1 twice, the Los Angeles Lakers knew their Eastern Conference Finals opponent wasn’t going to be a pushover. However, Game 1 made it feel that way with a dominant Lakers victory.
While LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way for Los Angeles, others like Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard and Kyle Kuzma played an important role. For Rondo, it was a role that allowed him to make history on Friday night.
Rondo ended the game with seven points, one rebound and nine assists.
The assists were tied for the most in a single game of this current postseason run. While not overly impressive for a guard that has led the league in category three times in his career, it did push Rondo into the top 10 in career playoff assists, as he now sits at 1,025 through 111 postseason games.
Perhaps the real story was Rondo passed NBA all-time great Michael Jordan (1,022) in this category. And Rondo isn’t done quite yet either, as the Lakers could have anywhere between 7-13 more games to play.
If Rondo averages six assists through those games, he’ll end the postseason at No. 6. Passing Tony Parker and cracking the top five will be the real challenge for the former Wildcat. Rondo needs 118 assists to crack the top five, though.
After Parker, it’s Jason Kidd, with just about a hundred more before LeBron James who is in unreachable territory for Rondo. James sits at No. 3 with over 1,700 career postseason assists. John Stockton and Magic Johnson come in at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively.
A former champion with the Celtics, Rondo is looking to help the Lakers win what would be the franchise’s 17th and the second of his career.
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