Los Angeles Lakers: Are Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard Hall of Fame locks

After winning a chip with the Los Angeles Lakers, are Dwight and Rondo HOF locks?

The rigorous 2019-20 NBA season came to a close last week as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals 4-2. Nearly a year since the season began, there is no doubt the 2019-20 campaign will go down as the strangest and most eventful in league history.

The season was capped off by the Lakers winning their 17th ring in franchise history, tying them with the Celtics for the most all-time. Along with this, LeBron won his fourth title with his third different team, and Anthony Davis won his first.

But the lesser talked about feat is Dwight Howard finally winning his first NBA title in his second stint with the Lakers, and Rajon Rondo becoming only the second player ever to win a ring with both the Celtics and Lakers. Although these two were merely role players for this Lakers squad, their careers speak for themselves and it’s worth examining if they are now both worthy of Hall of Fame discussion.

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Dwight Howard, first off, I truly believe was a Hall of Famer before even winning this NBA title. After being drafted first overall in 2004, Dwight has done nothing but dominate since the beginning of his career. Everyone remembers prime Dwight Howard in Orlando, who was the premier rim protector in basketball for close to a decade.

Howard has accumulated eight all-star appearances, five All-NBA First Team selections, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, four All-Defensive First Team nods, five rebounding titles, two blocking titles, and now an NBA title. Along with those accolades, he has put up career numbers of 16.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks. Really, the only thing Dwight hasn’t accomplished is an MVP award. There are definitely many less deserving big men in league history who have made the hall and I believe Dwight is basically a lock at this point to head to Springfield.

Rajon Rondo, on the other hand, is a different story. Looking around the Twitter world after the championship I saw a lot of people calling for Rondo to be a future Hall of Famer which I don’t agree with. Rondo was no doubt arguably the best point guard in basketball for a handful of years while in Boston and when he was traded to Dallas it was big news across the league. But Rajon has struggled to stay relevant since leaving Boston, bouncing from team to team over the past six years.

Rondo’s career accolades to this point include: four all-star appearances, two All-Defensive First Team nods, three assists titles, one steals title, and now two NBA championships while averaging 10.2 points, 8.3 assists, and 1.7 steals for his career. Clearly, Rondo has had a very solid career but the idea he is a Hall of Famer is a bit of a stretch. If we’re going to reward dominance over only a handful of years rather than an entire career, then Derrick Rose should be a layup to make it as well.

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Regardless of their Hall of Fame credentials, Rondo and Dwight are two of the greats I had the honor to grow up watching, and I’m glad to see them both win a ring in L.A. And although they are both 34 years old I think we’ll get to see at least a few more years from these two before they decide to call it a career. And who knows, maybe they’ll both be able to add to their Hall of Fame resumes a little bit more in the next few years.

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Los Angeles Lakers: Are Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard Hall of Fame locks?

By Paul Lombardi | Oct 16, 2020

After winning a chip with the Los Angeles Lakers, are Dwight and Rondo HOF locks?

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