The incident occurred during the playoffs in 2011

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (3) and Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo (9) during Game 7 of 2012 Eastern Conference finals

Former NBA star Rajon Rondo has risked the wrath of his old teammate Dwayne Wade by claiming he purposely tried to injure him when he suffered a broken elbow.

Rondo, who was the Celtics point guard at the time, sustained the injury during the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat during the 2011 post-season.

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Things became heated between himself and Heat star Wade after they became embroiled in a scrap during Game 3 of the series.

Rondo has now lifted the lid on what happened during the NBA playoffs 12 years ago, recalling how he felt Wade had made a concerted effort to hurt him.

“That particular play, it was kind of a freak accident,” Rondo said in an appearance on View From The Rafters podcast.

Dalzell, who also provided video of the incident from the Celtics-Heat Game 3 affair, insisted that there is no residual bad blood between himself and Wade. But he suggested the foul was not within the parameters of basketball, although he ruled out a deliberate plot from the Celtics to injure him.

Among other things, he discussed the gruesome elbow industry he suffered in the 2011 playoffs at the hands of Dwayne Wade.

“We (Wade and Rondo) were teammates after that so there’s no bad blood but I think he broke it on purpose. Or tried,” he added.

“He was playing, made a play on the ball, or tried to make a play on the ball and ended up making a play on my elbow.

What happened to Rajon Rondo

While Rondo was heavily impacted by the injury, he was able to continue playing basketball and even opted to play through the pain barrier, against the advice of their medical team.

As a result of the incident, Rondo dislocated his elbow and spent some time out recovering. The former point later admitted that ‘adrenaline’ got him through the pain.

Rajon Rondo with the Boston Celtics

“[It was] just like every other injury. For me, it was a mindset,” he said. “I went back in the locker room… they’re trying to tell me I shouldn’t play. I’m like, ‘I gotta go. I’ll be back later, we can figure this out a couple weeks from now.'”

The 37-year-old played for 10 different NBA teams in a nomadic 16-year professional career, which ended in 2022 after finishing his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers.