Best Game Ever: Rajon Rondo’s came with international flair

Dan Woike asked NBA players to tell us about the best game in their basketball career. This week: Rajon Rondo.

Jan. 5, 2004: Oak Hill Academy 126, Adecco Estudiantes 90

55 points, 17 assists

Rajon Rondo was under the initial impression that his “best game ever� had to be an NBA game. And, the Lakers’ veteran point guard has had some good ones. This is a player who has won an NBA title. A player who once had an absurd triple-double: 18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists. But once Rondo was informed that he could choose any game he ever played, he switched up. “That changes things,� he said. For Rondo’s “best game ever,� he went back to high school for an international challenge.

“That’s a tough one. I think I’ve played a lot of great games. But, I would probably have to say it was a high school game. I was at Oak Hill [Va.] Academy. We were in Barcelona, Spain, playing against [future NBA first-round pick] Sergio Rodriguez. His team was really big-time over there in Spain. I had 55 and 17. Josh Smith, who was our star player, had gotten into foul trouble early. I had to kind of take the game over and put the ball in the hole more than I normally do. I was a senior. It was completely different. I’ve been abroad, but not at that age. We were young. I was 17 at the time. The food was completely different. I don’t think I ate much there. Cars were different. It was a different culture. They whistle there; they never clap as an ovation or as applause. So, that game, I got a lot of whistles.�

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