Former NBA star point guard Rajon Rondo graduated from the University of Kentucky over the weekend after finishing his undergraduate degree.
The two-time NBA champion earned a bachelor’s degree in communications during the university’s May 2025 commencement ceremony at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
Rondo’s achievement came 20 years after he first enrolled at the University of Kentucky as a standout freshman. Rondo played for Kentucky from 2004 to 2006 before declaring for the NBA Draft and forgoing his remaining eligibility.
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He started his career with the Boston Celtics after being drafted No. 21 overall in 2006 and spent eight seasons there before joining other teams.
He began earning fame when he won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 against the Lakers. He would go on to win a world championship with the Purple and Gold in 2020.
After playing his last season in the NBA in 2022, he officially retired in 2024.
His return to Kentucky was thanks to the university’s Athletics’ Post-Eligibility program, also known as the Cawood Ledford Scholarships. Under the program, the school’s athletic department “pays for tuition and books for scholarship student-athletes who return to school after completing their eligibility.”
Since its start in 1989, more than 160 Wildcats have returned to graduate through the program.
Rondo was one of seven former Kentucky Wildcats athletes who took advantage of the program to complete their undergraduate degrees.
