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Rajon Rondo honors Boston Marathon bombing victims with 'Boston Strong' sneakers for finale

Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of two pressure-cooker bombs exploding near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, an attack that killed three people and injured 264 others. It was an unspeakable tragedy that shook Boston — and the country — to its core, and touched countless lives. But the city's response to in the aftermath of the attack — the tireless work of Boston police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel, the selfless heroism of civilians like Carlos Arredondo, etc. — also showcased the very best of the character and fortitude that Boston could offer.

As Boston and its residents began the long and difficult journey of returning to normalcy, the city's sports teams — the Boston Celtics, the Boston Bruins and perhaps most of all the eventual World Series champion Boston Red Sox, led by the famously quotable David Ortiz — played a significant role in giving Bostonians something to band together and rally behind, common colors and causes to celebrate. After the bombings, the Celtics donned special warm-up shirts and jersey patches to honor the victims and survivors alike, and with this year's model of the Celtics set to close out their season on Wednesday night at home against the Washington Wizards, point guard and captain Rajon Rondo took it upon himself to show a similar sign of support.

While Rondo was ruled out of Wednesday's season finale due to a strained hamstring, he still went ahead with his plan to wear the special sneakers that Anta, the Chinese apparel brand with whom he has an endorsement deal, made specifically for this occasion. The sneakers feature the initials of every victim of the attack, with the now famous "BOSTON STRONG" slogan and the number "41513" — representing the date (April 15, 2013) of the tragedy — on the tongue.

Here's one look, from the Instagram account of Celtics strength and conditioning coach Bryan Doo:

Here's another, from Comcast SportsNet New England sideline reporter Abby Chin:

And a third, from NESN.com's Ben Watanabe:

And a postgame collage from the man himself:

“Coach [Brad Stevens] brought it to our attention that this is a special week in Boston,” Rondo said, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. “It’s a great time to play sports and give the fans something to cheer about — keep their spirits high.”

Rondo's cool, kind and thoughtful gesture also afforded an opportunity for the point guard to get in one last bit of gentle rookie razzing before the end of the season, according to Jay King of MassLive.com:

While in the locker room, teammate Kelly Olynyk asked Rondo if he plans to run the marathon in the sneakers. The point guard raised his eyebrows in response before saying that if he could run, he would be playing with the shoes on.

Rondo said he plans to donate the sneakers after the game to the One Fund, a charitable organization founded in the aftermath of the explosions to help those most significantly affected by the tragedy.

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Dan Devine

is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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