No matter the hardwood, Rondo on a roll

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo displayed his considerable skill on roller skates during a recent community event in Saugus. (boston celtics photo)

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge did a thorough background check on Rajon Rondo by calling his agent, mother, girlfriend, and several others.

No, this wasn't when Ainge and the Celtics were scouting Rondo before the 2006 NBA draft. Rather, it was earlier this month when Ainge was garnering information he needed to become comfortable signing off on allowing Boston's starting point guard to take part in his favorite hobby at a community event: roller skating.

"I did research and I did come to conclusion that he is a fantastic roller skater and he did it in his spare time," Ainge said. "Even with the research, I said, 'If there is a 1 percent chance of getting hurt, I don't want you to do it.' He said, 'There is no chance.' I said, 'One in a thousand chance?' He said, 'There was a 1 in a billion chance.'

"He had a lot of confidence and he wasn't going to do any tricks. I told him to go at your own risk, but if you get hurt I'm not paying you. He just laughed and went on his way."

Paul Pierce is a fantastic pool player. James Posey has a reputation of being a talented bowler. Ray Allen is an actor who starred in the movie, "He Got Game."

But none of the Celtics has a hobby that can be as physically challenging as roller skating, especially when considering the tricks Rondo can do. He takes very good care of his $150 boot-like skates that look new, but he rarely has an opportunity to skate during the busy season.

"I'm the best skater in the [NBA]," Rondo said. "I don't know who's good, but I'm the best skater in the league. That's just something I like to do outside the court. A lot of us like to bowl, too, but I'd rather skate.

"I'm in my own zone. It's never the same. I can learn. I'm not the best at it, so I want to continue to get better. I challenge myself every time I go out there. My friends are very good, they've taught me how to skate and they teach me everything. I've fallen a couple times, nothing too serious."

Rondo skated as a kid while growing up in Louisville, Ky. But it wasn't until the movies "Roll Bounce" (2005) and "ATL" (2006) arrived, which featured rhythmic roller skating, that he became interested again.

Two years ago, Rondo started skating in the offseason with friends back home in Louisville for as long as three hours at a time. He has watched "Roll Bounce" and "ATL" countless times to help pick up tricks.

"We would practice routines," Rondo said. "We would do certain steps, it's not really dancing. But we are doing the same thing on skates . . . I got good at it. Got my own skates and, from there on, I fell in love with it."

Rondo, 22, says he is very good at "trio," rhythmically skating with two partners. He said he often skates trio in Louisville with a group his age as well as a group of middle-aged adults. He said he has declined several offers to take part in skating competitions during the offseason.

Although Rondo often can be found skating at Robben's Roost Roller Skating in Louisville, he doesn't skate much during the season because "it's a lot on your legs." He hasn't found a favorite rink close to his Metrowest home that is big on playing R&B and hip-hop.

"A lot of people around the country try to do [trio skating] like us [in Louisville], but they can't do it like us," said Rondo. "They skate by themselves in Boston. They skate real fast and I consider it wild. But Louisville, we skate smooth with rhythm."

"I don't go often at all during the season. But in the summertime I go about three times a week and on weekends. Instead of going to the club, I go skating on Friday nights."

Considering how important Rondo has become to the Celtics, Ainge became understandably nervous when he heard Rondo was taking part in a community event at Roller World in Saugus earlier this month with 30 kids from Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

But after Ainge investigated - and got a promise from Rondo that he wouldn't be fancy - he signed off on it.

"[Ainge] thought I was going to get hurt," Rondo said. "There was a chance for me to get hurt, but I wasn't doing any tricks or anything. I was just running around with the kids going around the rink."

If you're at a rink and you see a guy who looks like Rondo grooving on skates, it's probably him. But disc jockeys, please don't announce his arrival. He prefers to skate incognito on a different hardwood than usual.

"Every time I go, I get shout-outs and stuff [from the DJ]," Rondo said. "I don't really want all that. I just want to have fun in my own little world. They embarrass me, but I don't mind it . . .

"I just like to go and have fun on my own. I want to have fun and skate just like they're doing.

"It was fun the first couple of times when people would say, 'Is that? Is that? It is.' But I just try to ignore it and keep skating."

Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com