Rajon Rondo, former Kentucky basketball star and Louisville native, reportedly arrested

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

According to WDRB, Rondo was booked on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, drug paraphernalia and marijuana. WDRB cited court records and a spokesman for the Indiana State Police. Per WDRB’s report, Rondo was stopped for a traffic violation in Jackson County, Indiana. The officer who stopped Rondo reportedly smelled marijuana, which led to a search of his vehicle. In conducting the search, the officer located a gun, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, ISP spokesman Sgt. Stephen Wheeles told WDRB Monday night.

Sunday’s reported arrest 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.

Born in Louisville in 1986, Rondo was a standout at Eastern High, averaging 27.9 points, 10 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game as a junior. Rondo concluded his prep career at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.

Rondo had two stellar 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 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 rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.