The word ‘wild’ won’t do justice to the countless crazy stories of Dennis Rodman. Back in the day, he was a little extra with almost everything he did. However, very few people got to know the real Rodman, who often took shelter behind all the curated drama. Phil Jackson was one of those few people who really knew Rodman as a person. Jackson’s trust in him was so strong from the jump that even before the Worm made his debut for the Chicago Bulls, he knew the value Rodman was going to add to the team.
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The veteran coach even went as far as admitting that Rodman could easily take on a giant like Shaquille O’Neal. In his 2013 book Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, Coach Jackson talked about the real Dennis Rodman behind all the glitter and the drama. He mentioned that after signing Rodman, it didn’t take long for the other players on the team to develop a liking towards him.
Jackson wrote, “They [Bulls players] soon realized that all his [Rodman’s] wild offstage theatrics—the nose rings, the tattoos, the late-night parties in gay bars—were all part of an act he’d created, with the help of Madonna, to get attention.” Once his teammates saw the real him, it was time to put his otherworldly skills to work.
When the team started with their drills with Rodman, even an experienced campaigner like Phil Jackson was mesmerized by what he was seeing. He wrote, “Not only was he a magician on the boards, but he was also a smart, mesmerizing defender who could guard anyone, even Shaq, who had six inches and close to a hundred pounds on him.”
While the addition of Rodman opened up new horizons for Phil Jackson, the most amazing thing for him was just to watch Rodman play. He defined it as, “like a boy discovering how to fly.” Not a man of many words, coach Jackson admitted in his book that he told the other coaches, “He reminded me of me.”
Phil Jackson was Dennis Rodman’s guardian angel
Although the Bulls dynasty broke up decades ago, Rodman’s bond with his coach continues to be his major support in life. Even today, when he is asked about Phil Jackson, the Rodzilla chokes up and finds it difficult to put words together for him. During a 2018 interview with The Post Game, Rodman said, “Phil Jackson was more like my father, brother, someone that I really depend on…like someone cared about you.”
Not only did he mentor Rodman as a player and as a person, but he also showed him how to lead a successful family life. So, while coach Jackson was like a father figure to Rodman, he helped him become a better father to his own kids.
