“Dennis Rodman has to be a top 50 player All time!”: When Michael Jordan hilariously tried to sneak his Chicago Bulls teammate into this prestigious NBA list

Tonoy Sengupta | 29/08/2021
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Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan once publicly reasoned to have his former teammate Dennis Rodman ranked as a top 50 player all time

 

What can we really say about Michael Jordan that you don’t know already?

He’s arguably the greatest player to ever lace them up. Even before the man reached his prime, a fellow all-time great, Larry Bird called him god in a human body.

But, among all his achievements and praises, one thing usually gets forgotten pretty frequently. His mentality.

No, we don’t mean the ‘never say die’, dogged part of his brain. We mean his attitude towards his teammates while he was on the Chicago Bulls.

He was always harsh on everybody, tyrannical even at times. But, His Airness only did so because he wanted to win together with them, and wanted to make them better. Simply put, he loved his team. And a massive example of that, showed up in an interview with SLAM magazine, in 1997.

What are we talking about, you ask? Let’s get into it.

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“One of the best rebounders in the game!”: Michael Jordan once argued with serious conviction that Dennis Rodman was a top 50 player all time

Back in 1997, the Bulls were at their strongest. They had a complete team, and yet another championship season in them. So, for obvious reasons, every media outlet wanted to score an interview with the Bulls, and Michael Jordan if possible. And in that very same year, SLAM Magazine did it.

During their interview, MJ had a very peculiar query. Here is how his conversation with the interviewers went.

“Dennis [Rodman]? Jordan said.

SLAM: “No way.”

Jordan: “Come on, now. The best rebounder — one of the best rebounders in the game.”

SLAM: “So? Dennis Rodman’s not in the Top 50.”

Jordan: [To others in the room] “That’s his opinion.”

Now, the whole NBA community knows Dennis Rodman was an incredible player and one of the most important pieces to the Bulls’ second three-peat.

A top 50 player All-time though? Come on now.

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Post Edited By: Tonoy Sengupta
Chicago Bulls Dennis Rodman Michael Jordan SLAM Magazine

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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