Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey comes from a prestigious basketball school in the University of Kentucky. The school has produced some of the best guards in the game from John Wall to Devin Booker to Tyler Herro to Rajon Rondo. Rondo, especially, put together one helluva career during his days in the league. He won two titles in 16 seasons in the league, one with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and then the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and was a wizard with the basketball in terms of running an offense. He was an elite playmaker and almost had eyes in the back of his head in terms of the passes he would make within the offense. When considering Rondo is the elder statesman, he made himself available for any younger guards to reach out to him. He opened up on his relationship with Maxey as he helped him grow:
The crazy thing is I’m out here in LA now and I had the opportunity. I’m out here with my son, and we got up this morning, last three days. We got up at 5:30 in the morning, and we’ve been driving to workout, watch Tyrese workout. So, I was with him this morning, actually. Shout out to him. When I first worked out with Tyrese, vice versa, a long time ago when he first came into the league, I was out here in California working out and I used to go at 6 a.m. I think he came in around like 7 and he was like, “Damn, you beat me to the gym.” And I’m like, “Yeah.” He’s like, “Do you mind if I come work out with you? I was like, “(Expletive), of course, UK alumni.” And again, any young point guard that wanted to learn from me at that particular time, even know to this day, it’s like, you know, I’m all ears. So, that’s kind of how that came about. Like I said, to this day, he’s still working out at five thirty in the morning. Him and Bron (LeBron James) in the gym.
Rajon Rondo on his relationship with Tyrese Maxey: “The crazy thing is I’m out here in LA now and, I had the opportunity. I’m out here with my son and we got up this morning, last three days. We got up at five thirty in the morning and we’ve been driving to work out, watch… pic.twitter.com/ZGIhEgCtTU — NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) August 13, 2026 Maxey and the Sixers will be looking to finally get over the hump in the Eastern Conference and end some long droughts in the history of the franchise. The last time Philadelphia was past Round 2 was the Allen Iverson-led Sixers who made the finals in 2001. The franchise hasn't won a title since 1983 in the Julius Erving, Moses Malone days. A title has been long overdue for the franchise. This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: NBA champ Rajon Rondo discusses relationship with Sixers' Tyrese Maxey