- Dennis Rodman had a tumultous time in San Antonio
- While he impressed with his numbers, the antics on and off the court continued
- David Robinson and some of the players were relieved to see Rodman traded
Dennis Rodman’s time with the San Antonio Spurs was turbulent at best, and it was no surprise then that David Robinson and a few other players were happy to see ‘The Worm’ being traded for Will Perdue prior to the 1995-96 season.
In his two seasons with the Spurs, Rodman’s job as a rebounding specialist didn’t take a hit, but his reputation surely saw massive dents and the ramifications rippled through the team. And Robinson for one, was relieved when Rodman exited the franchise. Speaking to Sports Illustrated in October 1995, he said:
“It was like a zoo last year. Now we’ll be able to just focus on basketball. There won’t be any of that other garbage. Everyone is relieved.”
The general consensus in the team was that Rodman wasn’t a team player. Most players believed they would have been far better had he been an active participant in the unit’s plans.
“We had a championship-caliber group of guys with Dennis,” Robinson said. This was seconded by Sean Elliot. “We are a quiet bunch,” he said. “We are probably the best team, getting along-wise, in the league.”
On the numbers front, Rodman was incredible for San Antonio after he joined them for the 1993-94 season. In his first season with the side, he earned his third consecutive rebounding title averaging 17.3 rebounds, and bagged the reward the following season as well with 16.8 boards per game.
Rodman played 79 games for the Spurs in his first stint averaging 4.7 points, a whopping 17.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. His efforts resulted in the team making the playoffs with 55 wins but were swept by the Utah Jazz in the first round.
The following season, Rodman’s off-court drama came to the fore. In addition to meeting with a motorcycle accident, he was also suspended multiple times for his on and off-the-floor outbursts.
But when he did play, Rodman was effective, and his 16.8 rebounds that season saw the Spurs finish with 62 wins making it the league’s best regular season record that year. However, their journey ended at the hands of Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets who won 4-2.
This resulted in Rodman calling out the Spurs front office and head coach Bob Hill. The endgame was a trade to the Chicago Bulls for center Will Perdue.
Dennis Rodman Was A Force For The Chicago Bulls, Playing His Part In The Team’s Second Three-Peat
Scottie Pippen nailed it when he said Dennis Rodman fit into the Bulls team “like a hand in a glove” during his interview on ‘The Last Dance’.
Despite their intense and brutal rivalry with Rodman during his time with the Detroit Pistons, both Pippen and Michael Jordan welcomed the team’s future rebounding presence and the latter didn’t disappoint.
The 6-foot-7 forward led the NBA in rebounding all the three seasons he was in the Windy City, and his arrival was integral in the Bulls post a then-record 72 wins in 1995-96.
During his time with the Bulls, Rodman averaged 5.2 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, coupled with 0.6 blocks and 0.3 steals. Initially unimpressed with the notion of adding Rodman to the squad, then GM Jerry Krause was even reluctant to pull off the trade, but when he did ‘The Rodman Effect’ that followed even had him say positive things about the forward.
Speaking highly of Rodman, Krause told Jim Gray from NBC Sports:
“Dennis has been outstanding, he hasn’t missed a practice, he hasn’t been late, he’s done the things we’ve asked him to do on the basketball court, and he’s a tremendous practice player, Dennis has been very good for this team and I believe that he’s a good person.”
Fair that there was ample drama in the 1998 season in the Bulls camp with Rodman being the center of the storm, but his contributions were immense and are one of the reasons the Bulls have three banners on their rafters.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
