“I’m More Famous Than Michael Jordan”: Dennis Rodman Recalled How the City of Chicago Embraced Him

It’s been over two decades since the Chicago Bulls dynasty broke up. From their team getting cult status after the release of The Last Dance to the internal rift between his former teammates, a lot has happened since then. However, Dennis Rodman only has fond memories of the city of Chicago and its supporters. In fact, Rodman believes that he was more famous than Michael Jordan himself in the city of Chicago during the Bulls’ second three-peat stint.

During a recent interview with Joe Buck for Audiorama, Rodman explained why he believes he was more loved in the city at the height of the Bulls dynasty.

The five-time NBA Champion was truly one of a kind. His off-court antics were just as much, if not more popular, than his on-court skills. From his high-profile relationships to unique magazine covers, Rodman did everything on his terms outside the court. Because he would compensate heavily on the court, his actions were never scrutinized to the point where it became a problem for him. In the interview, Rodman said that he was embraced by the fans of the franchise as soon as he arrived there and “there was no bad time in Chicago.”

He added, “That city embraced me so well after I’d say the first couple of months and then all of a sudden, I’m overshadowing Michael now. I’m more famous than Michael.”

Soon Rodman realized just how popular he was in Chicago when the Halloween season took over the city. He said, “Michael said, ‘Oh my god Dennis, when I went home for Halloween, my kids, they were dressed up like Dennis Rodman.” The King of Rebounding revealed that Jordan was frustrated by the fact that his kids chose Rodman for their Halloween getup, but it was all in good spirit.

The 62-year-old was different from what people expected an athlete to be. He loved to party, he was tattooed and pierced from head to toe, and had unique ways of doing promo tours for his books, magazines etc.

Dennis Rodman was a star even before his Bulls stint

There was more than just basketball to Rodman’s life. While his career really took off when he arrived in Chicago and played under Phil Jackson with MJ and Scottie Pippen, Rodman was already a star before that. When he was with the San Antonio Spurs, the Worm appeared on a SI magazine cover where he cross-dressed, had red hair, and a rare bird on his hand. That cover is still as iconic as it was 30 years ago. A timeline of Rodman embracing his true self over the years can be seen here.

Other than the one-of-a-kind magazine covers, Rodman was also known for dating some of the biggest Hollywood celebrities. However, nothing comes close to the time when he married himself in 1996. To promote his book titled ‘Bad As I Wanna Be‘, the Bulls legend wore a wedding dress and ‘married’ himself. While many people thought this was just a stunt, Rodman benefitted immensely from it as his book became the bestseller for the next few months.