“Phil Jackson said I was his favorite player to coach over Michael Jordan but I don’t know why”: Dennis Rodman was flabbergasted at his Bulls coach picking him over ‘GOAT’

Dennis Rodman once revealed that he never understood why Phil Jackson said Rodman was his favorite player to coach. 

After losing to Shaquille O’Neal and his Orlando Magic in the 1995 ECSF, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls knew they had to strengthen two aspects of their team: defense and rebounding. This is where Dennis Rodman of the San Antonio Spurs came in. 

He was coming off a stellar All-NBA season with the Spurs in 1995 and was contacted by the Bulls to see if he would fit on their rather tame roster. Bringing in Rodman would either ruin every bit of chemistry the Bulls had built up to that point or he would prove to be the ultimate wild-card. Luckily for them, the latter took form.

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Many things had to happen before Rodman earned his usual $2.5 million from Chicago instead of San Antonio. First, he had to apologize to Scottie Pippen and would have to have Pippen accept his apology. Second, and most importantly, Phil Jackson had to reassure Jerry Krause and Bulls management that he could handle Dennis Rodman and his eccentricity. 

Fast-forward three years and it’s safe to say Jackson did just that as he hoisted the Larry O’Brien three more times. 

Phil Jackson on Dennis Rodman and how it shocked the latter. 

Dennis Rodman had a flair for the dramatic and yet, he didn’t let it cloud what he really wanted to do and that was win a championship. Sure, he needed days to recharge in Las Vegas and would show up in a bridal dress ready to marry himself but at the end of the day, locking down the opposing team’s best offensive player and grabbing 17 boards a night was a given for him.

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In a sit-down interview years after his retirement, Rodman talked about Phil Jackson, the man who coached him for three years on the Bulls. He would go on to reference the time Jackson chose ‘The Worm’ over Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant or even Shaquille O’Neal as his favorite player to coach. 

Tex Winter, the mastermind behind the triangle offense also once said that Dennis was his favorite player to coach as well. Seems as though with all of his eccentric habits, when it came down to things on NBA hardwood, there was no one who understood the game better than Rodman.