Young NBA fans often wonder how Dennis Rodman‘s popularity in the 90s rivalled the superstardom of His Airness, Michael Jordan himself. The reason behind that is pretty simple. Rodman was always on the news for his wild escapades outside the hardwood, which garnered him as much, if not more, attention than the Bulls leader. During the 1998 NBA Finals, the Bulls’ iconic ‘Last Dance’, Jordan and Bulls’ then head coach Phil Jackson had to drag the Worm back to practice after he overstayed his 48 hour ‘vacation’ in Las Vegas in the middle of the series. Rodman thrived in the chaos he created around himself. In fact, the one time he actually tried to be more disciplined during the NBA Finals, it backfired dangerously, as Rodman revealed in his 2005 book ‘I Should Be Dead By Now’.
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Despite being a disruptor in the San Antonio Spurs’ locker room and a former ‘Bad Boy’ Piston, the Chicago Bulls decided to sign Rodman in 1995 after calculating the risk-reward ratio. The investment started to pay dividends almost immediately as the Chicago side found themselves leading 3-0 against the Seattle Supersonics in the 1996 NBA Finals. Just when Rodman’s first ring with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls seemed inevitable, the Rebound King decided to turn over a new leaf and things went south very quicky.
Dennis Rodman ‘F**ked Up’ badly trying to be David Robinson in the 1996 Finals
Rodman received persistent flak from different circles of the NBA community for his unruly behavior on and off the court. Therefore, after going up 3-0 in the Finals, ‘Dennis the Menace’ decided to follow a healthier schedule. Rodman writes in his book ‘I Should Be Dead By Now’:
“We were leading in the finals three games to none, on the verge of a sweep, and suddenly I decided to pull a David Robinson. I stopped partying, got a good night’s sleep three days running, and we lost two in a row. Major f**k-up.” Robinson was kind of a foil to Rodman in the Spurs roster. He was the diametrically opposite end of Rodman’s chaotic and uncouth self, the picture of work ethic and discipline. The sheer polarity of the two players made them an intriguing pairing.
Meanwhile, Rodman tried to revert to his previous antics after two straight losses in the series. He continues in his book, “So the night before Game 6 in Chicago, I started the evening with Sake Bombers at my favorite sushi restaurant, and then spent a little time at Crobar’s with a lesbian deejay who billed herself as “Psychobi*ch,” before ending my evening with breakfast at the Third Coast. So how’d we do? We kicked Sonic a**.”
Rodman spent the whole night his usual way, drinking, partying and enjoying himself. The lesbian deejay ‘Psychob**ch’ episode turned out well for the seven-time Rebounding champion as the Bulls edged out the Sonics 87-75 in Chicago to win the NBA title. Rodman tallied a staggering 19 rebounds, alongside nine points and five assists. Despite Michael Jordan receiving the MVP of the NBA Finals, many considered the former Piston to be the MVP of the pivotal Game 6.
Rodman blew through his $27 million Empire
Even though partying got Rodman through the 1996 NBA Finals, it would eventually become his ruin. The seven-time Rebounding Champion’s extravagant lifestyle pushed him toward bankruptcy, especially after his lucrative NBA deals started to fade away with fast-approaching age.
By the time of his retirement, Rodman had exhausted his $27 million in career earnings and had barely anything to go by. After leaving basketball, the Bulls legend had to scramble for money and do random gigs, like appearances at events, reality TV shows, book signings etc. to keep his boat afloat. The Hall of Famer currently has a reported net worth of $500k.
