Lakers' Rajon Rondo To Miss Six To Eight Weeks With A Fractured Right Thumb
Rajon Rondo sustained a fractured right thumb during Lakers practice in Orlando on Sunday.
He will undergo surgery this week and is expected to miss six to eight weeks, meaning he could return anywhere between Aug. 23 and Sept. 6.
That means he could be back during the first round of the playoffs, which begin Aug. 17, or during the conference semifinals, which begin Aug. 31. The conference finals begin September 15.
Rondo suffered the injury in the team's second practice after arriving in the NBA bubble on Thursday for the resumed NBA season at Walt Disney World.
Rondo was averaging 7.1 points, three rebounds and five assists in 20.5 minutes a game this season for the Lakers before the season was suspended March 11 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lakers, who are atop the Western Conference with a record of 49-14, have long talked about how Rondo's playoff experience would be invaluable to them during the postseason.
Rondo, a 14-season veteran, is a four-time All-Star who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008.
Last week, LeBron James reposted a video of Rondo shooting in an Instagram story and wrote: "Playoff Doe on the way!!!!"
In February, James called Rondo one of the smartest players in the league after the 34-year-old had a season-high 23 points on nine-for-13 shooting in a game against Phoenix.
"You see the Rondos, the Draymond Greens, Andre Iguodalas, the guys that think the game as a more cerebral thing," James said in February. "Obviously from the physical standpoint as well, the competition, but you can see their brains always working and figuring out how they can be on time, and on target, plays before plays happen and things of that nature. Always sense that, especially from those guys, Rondo, Dray and -- Dray and Dre."
