Dennis Rodman was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1986 and was one of the original ‘Bad Boys’ of the Pistons’ infamous 80s team. The five-time NBA Champion won Championships with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990 and with the Bulls between 1996 and 1998. Therefore, he saw first-hand how Michael Jordan’s arrival changed the NBA forever.
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The Bad Boy Pistons were winning championships and were feared in the NBA in the late 80s. NBA Commissioner David Stern had no problem with their physical style of basketball at all. However, after the emergence of Michael Jordan in the league, the Bad Boys faced a lot of backlash from different circles, especially for their tough defensive schemes against Jordan and the Bulls.
Rodman reflected on how Jordan ended the Bad Boys’ reign of terror in the NBA in his book I Should Be Dead By Now. After eight years of playing with Jordan, the Worm revealed that the league started paying attention to the Bad Boys’ style of play right after the Bulls and Jordan started emerging as top contenders for the NBA title.
Rodman noted in his 2006 book,
“Stern became commissioner in 1984, the same year Michael Jordan came into the league. Early on, when Detroit was winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, Stern loved the “Bad Boys,” and had no problem with us living up to the name—kicking people’s a**es…But when Jordan and the Bulls started coming on, he turned his back on us. All of a sudden he was like, ‘These guys are dirty.'”
According to Rodman, David Stern understood that the rise of the Bulls under Michael Jordan was lucrative for the NBA. On the other hand, the Pistons turned off a lot of fans with their ugly playing style.
After the 1990s, the league became much more stringent with the Bad Boys. They started calling them out, all because of Jordan’s influence. Rodman further added in his book,
“We weren’t dirty. We were men playing basketball—not boys, but men. You drive the line, you will pay. Bill Laimbeer was known for putting your a** on the canvas, and Rick Mahorn did the same thing. Back in the day, when somebody knocked you on your a**, you got up and played. Today, somebody knocks you on your a**, and they call a ‘flagrant foul.'”
The Piston Bad Boys went on to dominate the league till around 1990. Following this, Dennis Rodman joined the Bulls in 1995, pairing with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
