“Guys want to play with their friends, like the banana boat and stuff”: Dennis Rodman takes a shot at the modern mentality of the NBA

Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman takes a dig at the modern era of the NBA, calling it out for its corporate outlook and players wanting to play together.

Dennis Rodman is not one to mince words with, the former Bulls player is not your traditional NBA superstar. The Worm could be uncanny in several ways, nothing to take away from his basketball talent. Rodman was one of the most elite defenders of his era.

The 2x NBA All-Star played alongside some of the greatest in the game including, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, and David Robinson. Rodman’s primary role on any team he played during his career was more concerned towards the defensive end.

The 5x champion was known to be a defensive pest, making life miserable for the opposition. Rodman had a combined total of 8 All-NBA Defensive Team selections and was crowned DPOY back-to-back from 1990-91.

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Rodman exhibited physical play each second he played and had a high threshold to endure pain. The current era of the NBA is subject to strict rules and regulations involving physical contact during the game. Contrary to earlier belief, superstars today want to play together.

Dennis Rodman feels the NBA today has become less competitive than it was.

While appearing as a guest on The Breakfast Club podcast, Rodman spoke about how the league has become more corporatized and the absence of a battlefield environment. The 7x rebounding champion feels superstars today want to cut corners by joining forces to win a championship.

“I think the league its more like corporate now. It’s very very corporate I think that you guys have been buddy buddies. Guys want to play with their friends and stuff like that. Now it’s like let’s go on the banana boat it’s summertime hangout.”

Rodman added,

“You see guys that are friends in the league they really don’t go at each other that much. It’s more like you score 40 I’ll score 40.”

Rodman took some shots at the new concept of load management in the NBA. The former Bulls forward believed players were sitting out for no reason despite being paid $40-50M dollars a year. During the time Rodman played, the league was less commercial, with players having to do odd jobs during the off-season.

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The Worm feels fans pay their hard-earned money to watch their favorite teams. Thus if they don’t get to see their favorite stars, they feel cheated.