Two kids with the same name, living in the same city. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison for felony murder. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.
Last night, before Game 4 of the NBA Finalsby the way, I checked out at halftime. Im assuming that OKC won? Great! Lets go with thatRajon Rondo made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmels pregame show. However, he wasnt in the studio. Instead, Rondo was at home in front of his computer, ready to play the NBA Edition of Skype Scavenger Hunt.
Now there are a few interesting takeaways from Rondo's appearance. First, that he just moved into a new housecomplete with a chair borrowed from Joffrey Baratheon. That tells you a little something about his comfort level in Boston, right? Obviously, we don't know if he bought or if he's renting, but either way, it doesn't make sense to move your family into a new pad unless you plan on staying there for a while. And for the first time in a long timemaybe ever?we get the sense that Rondo's finally confident enough to call Boston home.
Second, Kimmel's initial challenge: "Bring back the last thing that you read!" could not have been more perfect. At least from the Celtics fans' perspective.
We've spent the last six years trying to piece Rondo together like the world's most complicated jigsaw puzzle. We've grown obsessed with figuring out who he really is and what really makes him tick. Over and over, we've heard about how he's one of the smartest players in the league, and of course, we can also see that ourselves, but the more coaches, teammates, analysts and opponents mention it, the more intriguing and impressive that intelligence becomes. It makes us want more.
What's the last thing Rondo read?
Damn straight we want to know the last thing he read!
Boston Celtics
As Rondo searched around his new house, a couple options ran through my mind. I was secretly hoping for something like the Art of War by Sun Tzu or a biography of Winston Churchill. I dreaded the possibility of him making a joke of the whole thing and bringing back something about Red Bull or a magazine with himself on the cover. But deep down, I knew he wouldn't disappoint. And he didn't.
The answer: The Other Wes Moore.
Two kids with the same name, living in the same city. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison for felony murder. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.
It wasn't clicheas opposed the two books I mentioned. Nothing felt contrived or insincereas if he was digging through a box of random books in his bedroom thinking, "Hmm, what will impress everyone the most?" Instead, it was just a random (albeit a former New York Times Best Seller), deep and philosophical non-fiction story about two very different guys with the same name.
And that was fitting, because the whole appearance showed us a very different Rajon Rondo.
Last night, he carried himself in a way that we never could have imagined, even as recently as a year ago. After all, this is a guy who's spent the better part of the last six seasons walking around like he's about to go in for a colonoscopy. He's been cold, short, snippy and unapproachable.
Yet here he was: On live TV (although, it was National TV which could help explain the performance). Unscripted. Out of his element.
And he was entirely comfortable.
He was funny, friendly, humble, self-deprecatingstraight goofy! There was no chip on his shoulder, no bone to pick with anyone. He was more real in these 4:58 seconds than he's been in any 4:58 since being drafted by the Celtics. At least on a stage that's visible to someone other than his family and teammates.
Maybe it took forcing him out of his elementand away from the mediato bring out this side him, but in my opinion, it's just another sign of how much he's grown.
I mean, it's easy to still look at Rondo like a baby compared to his Hall of Fame teammates, but the truth is that he is growing up. He'll be 27 next season. He's no longer a kid. And that's become evident in every aspect of his public life: The way the Big 3 finally began deferring to him down the stretch last season. The way he carried himself on the podium after games. The fact that he even agreed to go on Jimmy Kimmel in the first place.
Let's face it: Part of growing up is becoming more comfortable in who you are. In your own personality. So while it's been easy to just write Rondo off as a miserable curmudgeon, I think there's also a very real possibility that he's spent the last chunk of years doing what most of us do (or did) in our 20s. Figuring stuff out. Learning about and growing comfortable with who he really is. The only difference is that he's done it on the biggest stage imaginable. In the face of millions of mean-spirited people who would love nothing more than to bring him down and who are ready to jump on anything he has to say. It's hard enough growing up normal, I can't imagine what it would be like to do so under that spotlight, especially for someone as aware and cerebral as Rondo.
But he is growing up. He has grown up. You get the sense that he's ready to be Rondo, and that the puzzle's starting to come together.
That doesn't mean that he'll be all smiles, because being Rondo still means being moody and snapping at stupid questions, and Lord know those stupid questions aren't going anywhere.
But there's finally reason to believe that that's not all he'll give us.
That there will be more honesty, more personality and who knows, maybe even a book club.
Rich can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrich_levine