Dennis Rodman is a one-in-a-million man. He was one of the NBA’s premier defenders during his heyday, as well as its most dominant rebounder.
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The story of Rodman’s rise through the ranks to become an NBA player is truly the stuff of legends. This man was not even on a college basketball team till he was 21 years of age.
He made waves in the lowly NAIA circuits during his time with Cooke County College. And the Detroit Pistons decided to take a flier on him, drafting him with their 2nd round pick in the 1986 NBA Draft.
After a season of acquainting himself with Chuck Daly’s system, Dennis Rodman did the veritably unthinkable. He managed to supplant 2-time NBA scoring champion Adrian Dantley from Daly’s starting lineup.
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Moving The Worm into a more integral role proved to be highly beneficial to the Pistons’ fortunes. They managed to beat the Celtics in the 1988 playoffs and make the Finals. They made 2 more Finals after that, winning them both as Rodman played a crucial role.
However, Rodman is probably best known for his time with the Chicago Bulls from 1995-1998. He was given a huge defensive responsibility by Phil Jackson, and he played that role to the T. A threepeat with Michael Jordan and co immortalized his name in the annals of NBA history.
Dennis Rodman comments on his shock at being accepted into the Hall of Fame
Speaking to Howard Stern during an interview a couple of years back, Rodman said he was taken aback when he learnt that the Pistons were going to retire his jersey, as well as his Hall of Fame induction:
“It wasn’t that I was emotionally shocked or emotionally distraught because my number’s gonna retire. It was the fact that I couldn’t believe they were doing it.”
“Because I wasn’t there significantly, I was just a piece of the team. And I said ‘You guys shouldn’t be doing it for me because I don’t deserve this.'”
“It wasn’t working harder, it was that I should’ve been there a lot longer than I was. I mean, of my whole time there, just 4 years were really significant. That’s the reason I was saying that, because it could’ve been at least 10, 11, 12 years. But it didn’t work out that way.”
As humbly as he might portray himself, there is little doubting Rodman’s credentials. This man became the best defender as well as the best rebounder in the league at just 6’7″.
He was able to guard forwards, point guards and centers – all manners of opposing personnel. The likes of Draymond Green and the late, great Bill Russell have shouts, but Rodman will always be remembered as perhaps the greatest NBA defender of all time.
