Rajon Rondo was jawing at Russell Westbrook — Rondo isn’t afraid to tell his opponents what he’s thinking, and with his team up 20 points in the fourth quarter, he could pretty much say anything he wanted.
Rondo’s brother William is a different story.
Williams Rondo was ejected from the family area near the court during the Lakers’ Game 5 win on Saturday on the NBA campus in Orlando.
It started when Rondo and Westbrook were talking a little smack midway through the fourth quarter. That’s when William decided to join in, calling Westbrook “trash” and waving goodbye to him, at least that’s how Rondo described it postgame, according to Marc Spears of ESPN.
Security asked Rajon Rondo’s brother to leave the stands after he exchanged words with Russell Westbrook. pic.twitter.com/5jG1hkInN6
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 13, 2020
Rockets’ Russell Westbrook repeatedly shouts “Who you talking to?” at Rajon Rondo’s brother who was seated in front row & supporting Lakers during Game 5. Austin Rivers adds, “You’ve got to go” before security escorts him out. NBA has policy restricting bubble fan conduct pic.twitter.com/w9Wb3tCXCd
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 13, 2020
“People at the game, you’re supposed to shut your mouth and watch the game. That’s the rules, especially when you have families and people here,” Westbrook said. “Apparently, I guess because [Rajon] Rondo was talking s---, [William] decided he wanted to hop in, too.
“But it’s OK. I mean, it’s all good, I get it. He wanted to take up for his brother. ... But those rules stand for everybody, though, no matter who it is -- family, whatever.”
“He didn’t do anything crazy,” Rajon Rondo said. “He called the man ‘trash.’ Fans do what fans do. He’s my brother first. He didn’t do anything disrespectful.”
The NBA has laid out some ground rules for family members’ behavior at games, looking to avoid an AAU tournament/pro-am experiences with family talking smack from the sidelines. Which is exactly what William Rondo was doing, even if it wasn’t that severe.
William Rondo is in charge of the barbers and hairdressers in the bubble and has been the feature of an ESPN piece. He isn’t going anywhere. Expect to see him at future Lakers games as the Lakers have advanced to the conference finals. Just don’t expect to hear him as much.
