BOSTON - Rajon Rondo returned to Boston to play against the team that not only drafted him but made him an NBA champion.
But those years feel like a long time ago.
That championship team is no more, heck even some of the starters from that year aren't playing right now. Ray Allen is out of the league, Kendrick Perkins has played in just 10 games this season, and Kevin Garnett plays sparingly and averages just 3.2 points per game for the Timberwolves.
Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers? Boston will see those two on Wednesday when the Clippers come to town.
But on Sunday, it was Rondo, who still looks to be one of the better guards in the NBA for the foreseeable future, and is due a shiny new contract at the end of this season.
That contract won't come from the Celtics, who traded him to Dallas last season and haven't looked back since.
In fact, Boston is 62-50 since the Rondo trade. They made a late run to the playoffs last season after acquiring Isaiah Thomas, and are currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 31-22 record after beating Rondo's Kings 128-119 on Sunday.
Jae Crowder, a player sent to Boston in the deal for Rondo, has really grown as a player, while Avery Bradley and Evan Turner continue to trend upwards. The younger players like Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart have started to hit shots lately - especially from the outside - too.
So did Rondo know the team was this talented?
"I did. They play well as a team," Rondo said. "They may be 13, 14 guys deep. You never know who’s going to get it going for them each night. You look at the box score and someone is leading them in scoring different every night. So they’ve been playing well as a team. Brad has these guys rolling, believing in the system and they’re playing very unselfish."
Rondo still keeps tabs on his former team and stays in contact with them.
"I sent Avery a text after the big shot he made the other day," Rondo said. "My young guys Kelly, Jared. A lot of these guys are my rookies. So it’s good to see these guys playing well I wish them health and happiness and to continue to play and try to take the East."
And as for returning to his first NBA home, that will never get old.
"It was classic Boston fans," Rondo said of the ovation he got during the starting lineups introduction. "Since day one, since I’ve been here, it’s always been that type of reception. I don’t think they view me as the enemy."