Things would’ve come to blows on The Truth Lounge if Paul Pierce wasn’t already a fan of Jrue Holiday. He loves the Celtics player, but he doesn’t measure up to his teammate from the 2008 Celtics squad yet. Both Pierce and Holiday have a lot of admiration for Rajon Rondo as a player. The Truth’s co-host, Jason Crowe Sr. does find him “incredible” too. But just when he started comparing Holiday and Rondo, Pierce was not having it. He was nearly in Crowe’s face to make his point.

At one point, Pierce groaned, “This is crazy. I can’t believe the slander,” when Crowe claimed that Rondo is not a defender. Pierce pretty much was ready to restart the show with a clean slate away from this topic but he wouldn’t give either.

Pierce argued that not only is Rondo statistically ahead, but he was also only in his second year as an NBA pro when he won his first title alongside Pierce and Kevin Garnett. To compare Rondo and Holiday through their overlapping careers, Rondo has a 21-15 winning record. He has four All-Defensive selections to Holiday’s six, to Crowe’s point, but Pierce doesn’t count that.

He was ready to smear the Olympics over the Rondo slander. When Crowe said, “One of them is an Olympic level player,” aka Holiday led Team USA to gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Pierce countered, “No, one of them was fortunate to get picked.” Crowe could’ve been reminded that Rondo was in fact selected to represent the USA internationally. He withdrew from the team during the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey for personal reasons and had no aspiration to play in the Olympics.

But Pierce instead claimed he doesn’t put “a lot of stock on Olympic gold,” because you’re handpicked to the team to win nothing less than the gold. And Rondo was selected with that intent.

Their argument went on about a dozen tangents but both didn’t shift from their stance. The Truth Lounge co-hosts would have to agree to disagree. But Rondo and Holiday would probably not weigh in.

Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo don’t lean into comparisons

Holiday was Rondo’s teammate during the 2x champion’s brief stint with the New Orleans Pelicans. Their mutual respect stemmed from then. After Jrue was traded to the Celtics, Rondo was one of the happiest. While Pierce called Holiday the missing piece Boston needed, Rondo told the media, “He’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever played with.” Rondo hailed his mentality and mindset that would lead the Celtics to the franchise’s 18th title.

Meanwhile Holiday, who also said Rondo was his favorite player, was filled with awe from their single season in New Orleans. He referred to that as an opportunity to learn from “one of the best to do it.” The duo had helped the Pelicans go on their longest playoff run since 2008 and together they were a strong combination. It almost sounds like Crowe wouldn’t be having that conversation if it wasn’t for Rondo.

Regardless, Rondo knew that Holiday would lead the Celtics where they hadn’t been since 2008. The comparisons are inconclusive but who do you agree with – Pierce or Crowe?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.