Being one of the hardest workers in the league, according to former Bulls assistant General Manager Jim Stack explained how Dennis Rodman would hit the weight room immediately after playing a tough 45-minute game.
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Dennis Rodman is easily one of the most underrated players of all time. Rodman is considered to be amongst the elite group of top-class defenders, who players feared going against. The Worm managed to sacrifice his body in every possession, night in and night out.
Being one of the best rebounders in NBA history, Dennis won several back-to-back rebounding titles, over some of the greatest centres of all time. Whether it was his 2 championships with the Bad Boy Pistons or the 3 titles with Michael Jordan and the Bulls, Rodman was the unspoken hero and a huge reason behind all the successes.
Despite being only 6-foot-7, a rather undersized power forward, Dennis the Menace would work harder than anybody to work on perfecting his craft. The result? Rodman managed to win 7 consecutive rebounding titles from 1991-1998, completely dominating the board on both ends of the court.
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Some people question Dennis Rodman’s work ethic because of his off-the-court antics. However, whenever you set foot on the court or even hit the gym, there was nobody on the team who would be able to outwork Dennis.
“Dennis Rodman would hit the gym after playing a 45-minute match. He was bionic”: Former Bulls assistant GM Jim Stack
Back in 2011, former Chicago Bulls assistant GM Jim Stack spoke about Dennis’ incredible work ethic which was impressive enough for Stack to convince Jerry Krause to get Rodman on the Bulls roster.
“What was compelling about Dennis is after he would play 45 minutes in a game, he would go in the weight room for an hour-and-a-half. I’d see Dennis in there, and he’s working himself into a lather riding the exercise bike, lifting weights. That always stuck with me. The guy never gets tired. He was a freak like Michael in that respect. He was bionic.”
During the 3rd episode of “The Last Dance” docu-series, Rodman himself spoke about the immense hours he would dedicate in the gym to perfect the craft of rebounding the ball.
“I used to have my friends late at night, shit, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, go to the gym. I said, ‘Shoot the ball. Shoot over here, shoot over there.’ I’d just sit there, react, react. I practiced a lot about the angle of the ball and trajectory of it. So basically, I started learning how to put myself in a position to get the ball. I was pretty much like that rash on players. That rash you can’t ever get rid of.”
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And because of the work he put in, Rodman had a pretty illustrious career, with 2 All-Star appearances, 2 All-NBA selections, 8 All-Defensive selections, 2-time DPOY, 5-time NBA champ and was even enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame back in 2011.
