Former NBA, Kentucky basketball star Rajon Rondo arrested on gun, drug charges

Former Kentucky basketball star Rajon Rondo was arrested Sunday in Indiana.

Rondo was initially arrested 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. All three charges are misdemeanors.

Per the incident report, an Indiana State Police trooper stopped Rondo, who was driving a black 2022 Tesla, after a caller reported the car was driving recklessly on I-65 South. After pulling Rondo over, the trooper reported smelling the odor of marijuana, which led to a search of the vehicle. In conducting the search, the officer located a gun, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Rondo is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a protection order in place against him.

After the search, Rondo was arrested and taken to the Jackson County Jail. He placed bond and was released. A juvenile who was in the car with Rondo at the time of the arrest was released to a family member.

Rondo will soon be scheduled for an initial appearance in the Jackson County Superior Court.

Sunday's arrest, which was first reported by WDRB.com, is Rondo's latest legal issue 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.

Rondo had two stellar seasons with the Kentucky 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 reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Rondo followed that up in 2005-06 by leading 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 No. 21 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 was part of the All-NBA third-team in 2012.

Rondo led the NBA in assists 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 14th 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 September, Rondo was one of six inductees in the UK Athletics Hall of Fame's 2023 class..

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.