“Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer try to live up to their image as a**holes”: When Michael Jordan expressed his disdain for the Pistons bruisers

Michael Jordan didn’t mince his words when asked about Dennis Rodman and the Pistons as he went on to call them ‘a**holes’. 

Michael Jordan was destined for greatness the second he took to NBA hardwood. While he was racking up All-Star and All-NBA nods along with a DPOY and an MVP, his Chicago Bulls weren’t exactly reveling in his individual success. The Bulls were on the precipice of championship contention but had one obstacle in their way: the Detroit Pistons. 

The ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons earned their moniker as they cemented themselves as the toughest and most physical team in the league. Their late 80s bouts with an aging Celtics squad eventually transformed into yearly run-ins with the rising Chicago Bulls led by a Michael Jordan in merely his mid 20s.

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The Bulls would face the Pistons 4 straight times in the Playoffs from 1988 to 1991, with the latter beating Jordan and company the first 3 times. The 1991 ECF saw the Bulls finally triumph over Isiah Thomas’s ‘bandits’ as they swept the reigning champions en route to beating the Lakers in 5. 

Michael Jordan on Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer. 

If someone had to pick two players off the Detroit Pistons who earned them their ‘Bad Boys’ nickname, it would most probably Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman. The two frontcourt players were constantly defending at a level that put the opposing players in harm’s way, with Laimbeer being placed in this category more so than ‘The Worm’.

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The countless battles against Chuck Daly’s squad led Michael Jordan and the Bulls to grow a great hatred for everybody on the team and vice versa. In an interview with Playboy in 1992, MJ opened up about his storied history with the Pistons and the physicality with which they played the games. 

When asked if Laimbeer was worse than Rodman, Michael Jordan said, “I think Rodman and Laimbeer are just alike. They try to live up to their image of being a**holes.” 

Of course, Jordan would put his disdain for Rodman aside and recruit him to the Chicago Bulls, leading the Bulls to three more championships from 1996 to ‘98.