It is a well-known fact that Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has huge hands — “the largest hands the Celtics’ current training staff has ever measured,” according to Peter F. Stringer in an article for Celtics.com.
How large, you might ask?
Nine-and-a-half inches long and 10 inches wide, says ESPN’s Emmy-winning Sport Science, which also notes that Rondo’s larger-than-life hands make his wingspan 11 percent longer than Leonardo Da Vinci’s study of human proportions would predict.
Both factors help to explain why Rondo accumulates so many steals and assists each year, including an NBA-best 11.2 average assists per game this season.
Rondo’s huge hands inspired ESPN Marketing’s latest This is SportsCenter spot, which launched today on television and online.
In the spot, SportsCenter’s Steve Levy advises fellow anchor John Anderson not to look directly at Rondo’s hands. Anderson ignores the advice and quickly realizes just how small his own are in comparison.
Anderson said there was humor to be found off camera, too.
“I mostly enjoyed the breaks in filming when Rondo and his cousin would go outside the building and just sit on a bench,” Anderson said. “The number of people whoo stopped or did a double take to look at Rondo in full uniform just chillin’ was comical.”
Anderson, a former University of Missouri high jumper, was not surprised at the size of the 6-foot, 1-inch Rondo’s hands.
“I was more surprised that I am taller than he is,” Anderson said.
SportsCenter’s Sage Steele and Wildcat, the mascot from the University of Kentucky, Rondo’s alma mater, also make cameos in the spot.
Catch Rondo and the Celtics as they play host to the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN.
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