Isiah Thomas has been around the NBA for quite a while now and has seen his fair share of incredible athletes in that time.
The best one he has seen? Well, that would be his former Detroit Pistons teammate Dennis Rodman.
“Best athlete I’ve ever seen, probably in the NBA,” Thomas said on the All The Smoke podcast when asked about Rodman. “Not the highest jumping but just the best athlete. I never seen anybody who ran that fast and then quick jump like that. So, my first time playing with him, literally, he gets the rebound, kick it to me on the outlet pass. Right? And, so, when I get on the outlet, now I’m dribbling to the middle of the floor to set the break. As I’m dribbling to the middle of the floor, now this dude just threw it to me, he down there underneath the basket waving for it. I’m like, ‘How the hell he get (there)’ So, of course, I kick it up. But adjusting to his speed was the first thing I had to do.”
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Rodman tends to be remembered for his eccentric and unique personality, so people tend to forget just how good of an athlete he was. He wasn’t a gifted offensive player by any means, but when it comes purely to athleticism, there really aren’t many who can match up to Rodman.
For a man who was just 6’7″, he averaged 13.1 RPG for this career, which ranks 10th all-time. He was an extremely smart player, too, as Isiah also explained during this episode about how Rodman scientifically broke down the art of rebounding. If you think Isiah might just not be mentioning Michael Jordan here as the best athlete because of their beef, you are mistaken.
Phil Jackson Called Dennis Rodman The Best Athlete He Ever Coached
When Phil Jackson was asked back in 2008 who was the best athlete he ever coached, he said it was Rodman, not Jordan. When Kobe Bryant was asked about Jackson’s comment, he agreed that Rodman was a better athlete than MJ.
Kobe said Rodman could run all day and could defend all five positions on the court, pointing to how he guarded MJ when he was in Detroit and then years later when he was on the Chicago Bulls, he guarded Shaquille O’Neal. He added that you don’t see athletes like Rodman too often, which shows how much respect Bryant had for him.
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