With all the latest superlatives and accolades being thrown Rajon Rondo’s way for his play this year, I know a lot of Boston Celtics fans are wondering the exact same question: Where does Rajon Rondo fit or rank on the list of the Boston Celtics greatest guards?
This is a great question for the present time—even though Rondo has only been in Celtics green for six seasons, his matriculation into an All-Star point guard warrants this discussion. So without further ado, here are my personal rankings for the best five Boston Celtics guards of all time.
#5—KC Jones—-one of the few guards in league history that didn’t rely on scoring or assists to get the job done. KC barely averaged 7 points and 4 assists per game, but he was a tenacious defender, bringing a skill which often shut down opposing point guards and kept them from initiating their offenses. In addition, KC Jones is the only point guard in NBA history with 8 NBA titles.
#4—Dennis Johnson—with his all-around game, DJ was a great guard with the ability to shoot, score, assist and play an unbelievable brand of defense. Oh, and in his early days, the Pepperdine product could also dunk with the best at his position. DJ had the canniness to tailor his game to whatever the Celtics needed to be successful. But because of his defense, DJ will forever be known as the man who shut down Magic Johnson in the NBA Finals. And being immortilized by Johnny Most in one of the greatest play-by-play calls ever doesn’t hurt.
#3—Rajon Rondo—with excellent vision and fearlessness, Rondo’s ability to find the seam in the paint and dish the pass to his teammates creates havoc for opposing defenses. In time, Rondo could possibly be the best Celtics guard of all time. It is still too early to have a favorable comparison for his work in Boston, but he has been here long enough to be considered for this list.
#2—Jo Jo White—outstanding speed combined with excellent defense made JoJo one of the better point guards in history. His best attributes were his team leadership and his endurance—Jo Jo played in 82 games in 5 consecutive seasons for the Celtics. His performance in the 1976 ‘Greatest NBA Finals Game Ever Played’ is one of the great NBA moments. One minus for Jo Jo White—-he is still NOT a member of the Hall of Fame, and deserves rightly to be enshrined there one day.
#1—Bob Cousy—-there is no question at this time, that Cooz is the best point guard to ever play for the Boston Celtics. With pinpoint passing, shrewd ball-handling skills, Cousy also became one of a few legends to earn THREE nicknames: Cooz, Mr. Basketball, and Houdini of the Hardwood. Cousy led the league in assists 8 straight years during one span, and still holds the Celtics record for assists with 6945.
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Cooz changed the game in the 50s and he’s one of the greatest Celtics of all time, so he well deserves this #1 spot. Rondo is still very young, but he already rightfully stands between these giants: time is on his side to reach more achievements and titles, in order to try to climb to the top of this amazing Celtics point guard ranking!