Even though they patched things up later in their basketball careers, Rajon Rondo won’t forget what Dwyane Wade did to him in 2011 when they were still going toe-to-toe as rivals.
As he sat on the View From the Rafters podcast, Rondo expressed his belief that Wade intentionally broke his arm as the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics clashed in a 2011 postseason battle.
“That particular play. Like I said it was kind of a freak accident. We were teammates after that so it’s no bad blood. But I think broke it on purpose or tried. You know, he’s a competitor,” Rondo said.
No negative thoughts about D-Wade’s play
The heated play occurred during Game 3 of the East Semifinals. When Rondo was on the defensive side, he excellently guarded The Flash, who lost possession of the ball. From there, both players got tangled up, and as D-Wade fell down, Rajon landed his left arm awkwardly on the floor.
Upon scanning, it was revealed that Rondo sustained a dislocated elbow. Though he left the action prematurely, he still miraculously made a return to aid the Celtics to a 97-81 victory in which he finished with six points and 11 assists in nearly 36 minutes of play.
Despite the severe injury, Rajon played the next two games, but the C’s crumbled against the Heat and exited the postseason race. Though Boston fans speculated that if Rondo maintained his full health throughout the series, he admitted that he had no ill feelings towards Wade.
“I don’t think he know jiu jitsu or anything like that. … He made a play. I don’t think he was targeting me in the locker room or talks to take me out or anything like that,” he said. “He was playing, tried to make a play on the ball and ended up making a play on my elbow.”
From opponents to newfound allies in the Windy City
As years passed and their rivalry cooled down, Rondo and Wade crossed paths and had an unlikely partnership in Chicago during the 2016-17 season.
As stated by Rondo, there was a lot of respect and admiration between them as they hit up for a brief conversation as new teammates in Chicago that year.
Rondo and D-Wade helped the Bulls finish a top-eight finish in the East and nearly pulled off an upset against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
“Wade called me before we became teammates. It’s like ‘Hey, everything’s cool’ and I’m like ‘Nah! Of course not!’,” Rondo jokingly said. “My main focus is just to win. … I was like put everything in the past, let’s go ahead and win. It’s your hometown.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4gqPiZTVZc
