Former Kentucky basketball star Rajon Rondo pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun possession charge Tuesday in Indiana, according to court documents.
Misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed as part of a plea bargain. Rondo received a 180-day jail sentence, which was suspended. Rondo, who received credit for two days of time served, was placed on probation for 180 days and ordered to pay all costs associated with the program. According to WDRB, per the terms of his probation, “Rondo must have a job, stay away from alcohol and drugs and pay court costs and probation fees.” Rondo also was ordered to pay $189 in court costs.
Tuesday’s plea bargain stemmed from a January arrest in which Rondo was stopped by an Indiana State Police trooper on I-65 South.
Rondo’s trial had been on hold since May after his lawyer challenged the constitutionality of his case, citing an impending ruling of a case in the U.S. Supreme Court. In June, the Supreme Court upheld a federal law that prohibits anyone subject to a domestic violence protective order (DVPO) from owning a gun. The high court ruled, by an 8-1 decision, that the law did not violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Rondo was arrested Jan. 28 on charges of possession of a firearm while being prohibited, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police.
Per the incident report, an Indiana State Police trooper pulled over Rondo, who was driving a black 2022 Tesla, after a caller reported the car was driving recklessly on I-65 South. After stopping Rondo, the trooper reported smelling the odor of marijuana, which led to a search of the vehicle. During the search, the officer located a gun, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
It wasn’t Rondo’s first brush with the law in recent years.
In May 2022, he reportedly pulled a gun on his family during an argument at their Louisville home. The mother of Rondo’s children, Ashley Bachelor, was granted an emergency protective order against him after the incident. One month later, a judge dismissed the EPO.Born in Louisville in 1986, Rondo was a star at Eastern High, averaging 27.9 points, 10 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game as a junior. Rondo ended his prep career at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
Rondo had two standout seasons with the Wildcats. In 2004-05, he earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors after recording 87 steals — a single-season mark that still stands — for a club that went 28-6 overall, captured the SEC’s regular-season title and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Rondo followed that up in 2005-06 by pacing the team in assists (167), total rebounds (209), points scored (380) and steals (69) as a sophomore, landing on the All-SEC second team as the Wildcats finished 22-13.
Rondo went on to become the 21st overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. He played 16 years (2006-07 to 2021-22) in the NBA, winning titles with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers — only the second player to win rings with the league’s two most historic franchises.
He was a four-time NBA All-Star (2010 through 2013), a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team honoree and part of the All-NBA third-team in 2012.Rondo led the NBA in assists per game on three occasions (2011-12, 2012-13 and 2015-16), one of just 10 players in league history to top the regular-season leaderboard in that department three or more times. Among that illustrious group are six Hall of Famers (Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Oscar Robertson and John Stockton), two more future Hall of Famers (Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook) and Kevin Porter, who ranks 16th in NBA history in career assists per game at 8.06, two spots ahead of Rondo (7.92).Rondo also led the NBA in steals per game (2.3) during the 2009-10 regular season.
Last year, Rondo was one of six inductees in the UK Athletics Hall of Fame’s 2023 class.
Rondo lended coaching assistance to La Familia, the Kentucky basketball alumni team, in its win over The Ville (a Louisville alumni team) in The Basketball Tournament quarterfinals last month at Freedom Hall.
