OurBKNets Spotlight: Who is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson?
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | Photo via Brooklyn Nets Twitter

You didn’t think Brooklyn would be satisfied with just one first round draft pick did you? Although the Portland Trailblazers drafted Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with the 23rd overall pick, Rondae would eventually wear a black and white cap as the Brooklyn Nets ended up trading Mason Plumlee and second round draft pick Pat Connaughton for Rondae. By the time the draft was finished, Rondae made up a rhyme for Brooklyn and Nets fans: “Look out Brooklyn, here I come. You can’t hide, you can run. I’m coming baby.” That impromptu line he gave began to answer the question many would soon have; just who is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson?

Off the court, Rondae is bursting with energy and charisma and incredibly funny and humble. It’s easy to see that Rondae is going to be an instant fan favorite. How could you not to like a guy who’s confident enough to wear bright red and black plaid pants to the NBA draft? For the Nets, Rondae is different in a good way and he’s comfortable being just that.

On the court, Rondae is a tremendous defender. In fact, this was the biggest reason the Nets front office went after Rondae. They believed that he was the absolute best defender in the entire NBA draft. Nets General Manager Billy King stated as much. “Looking at Rondae and his defensive ability, trying to get athletic at the wing positions, we felt it was something we needed. I thought he was the best defender in the draft. Watching him play, thats what he does. He loves to play defense.”

Rondae isn’t a one dimensional player.  At just 20 years old and standing at 6ft 7in, he’s developing his offensive range from below the basket to behind the 3 point line. He finishes at a high percentage rate at the rim, makes good unsuspecting passes to open guys, and has a 7ft 1in wingspan. That is his bread and butter. At Arizona, Rondae averaged 15.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, and shot 69.7% from the line. Keep in mind that he his still developing his offense that undoubtedly improved in the Summer League this past July. When you look at Rondae, you can see many things but what you can see is the road that led him to the Brooklyn Nets.
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Rondae grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania with his brother and his mother. With his father absent in his life, Rondae’s mom along with grandparents from both sides filled the parental duties. She worked 2 full-time jobs to support her kids while operating on just 3 hours of sleep. Rondae and his brother sometimes would go days without seeing their mother but knew she was working literally day and night to provide for them. Rondae managed to stay out of trouble even though it was always around him.  He later on become obsessed with basketball which helped with the pain and anger of not having his father around. All he wanted to do was make his mother proud and show that her scarifies were not in vein. He went on to become a top prospect in high school leading Chester High to a 91-5 record over 3 seasons. He also quickly became the best player in Pennsylvania and a member of the 2013 McDonalds All-American team.

Rondae went onto college and played for the Arizona Wildcats for 2 years before he declared for the NBA draft. His coach Sean Miller taught him to not always exert himself because his body might take plays off or miss the little but important things in games. Rondae struggled from the free throw line until he did his shimmy that was inspired by Kevin Durant. His coach didn’t like it but when a game was on the line, Miller told him to shimmy and Rondae ended up knocking down the rest of his free throws for the game. Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins doesn’t care one way or the other about the shimmy. He just wants the ball to go in. Rondae is going to excite the Brooklyn crowd like no other has before him while donning the #24. Rondae will go into every game thinking about his mothers’ sacrifices, his new family, and remembering to be Calm, Humble, and Patient. #CHAP

 

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