Dennis Rodman became a legend on two teams in the NBA, first the Detroit Pistons, where he embraced his Bad Boy role, and then the Chicago Bulls, where his eccentric personality, wild nightlife, and the talent he had to get rebounds made him one of the most iconic players of all time.
After leaving the Pistons in 1993, he spent the next two seasons in San Antonio, once again showing his rebounding prowess but also his personality, which earned him some enemies within the organization, especially David Robinson.
In 1995, Rodman was dealt to the Chicago Bulls in a big move that would give the team a lot of joy for the following years. However, the situation didn’t look that promising for the Bulls at the beginning, given Rodman’s personality. The player was committed to winning, though, and he promised the three main figures of the team that he was ready to capture another title.
Phil Jackson Had One Condition For Dennis Rodman Before He Joined Chicago Bulls
However, before everything became official, Phil Jackson had a curious condition for Rodman to complete this move. He wanted The Worm to apologize to Scottie Pippen for the altercations they had in the past, and Rodman didn’t hesitate to do it. During an interview on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take,” Dennis had this to say:
“When I went to Chicago, Phil Jackson asked me to apologize to Scottie Pippen before I signed. Because of the fact that I think there was a lot more animosity than I thought it was. I think Scottie kinda blew it over, because he knew the fact that if I came to a team, he knew that I was gonna add that X-factor to get over the hump and win more championships, so I think it was pretty easy to get into.”
In prior interviews, Dennis revealed how everything was set up for him to meet not only Phil Jackson but the Chicago Bulls general manager, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen. It was at Krause’s house that the rebounding specialist went and made amends with Pippen.
Via NBC Sports:
“When I got traded from San Antonio to Chicago, I went to Jerry Krause’s house and Jerry Krause, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, me, his wife, three dogs, cat, Phil Jackson. We had a meeting at Jerry Krause’s house, all of us there, and we all sat like in a triangle. You know, we didn’t talk to each other at all, we all just met on business. And Phil came up to me and said, Dennis, you know, before we put you on the team could you do me a favor?’ I’m like, ‘What is that Phil?’ He said, ‘Could you go and tell Scottie you’re sorry? (laughter)
I’m like, ‘Sorry for what?’ He said, ‘You know, that series you guys had in ’91.’ I said, ‘You want me to go say sorry for that?’ He said, ‘Would you just go do it?’ I said alright. I went over to Scottie I said, ‘Scottie, sorry about that, man, you know, pushing you out of bounds.’ Scottie said, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s OK, it’s OK, we just want to win a championship.’ He said, ‘Are you on board?’ I said, ‘Hell yeah, I’m on board.’ So that’s how I signed the contract right there, I had to apologize to Scottie. (laughter)
That’s the only reason I was a Chicago Bull, I had to apologize to him, and then after that, the rest was history.”
As he said, the rest was history. That same season, the Bulls recorded the best regular season in NBA history, winning 72 and only losing 10. They put the cherry on the top with a championship, proving that adding Rodman was the best decision they could have made.
Of course, Rodman’s tenure in Chicago wasn’t exempt from controversies, as he went to Las Vegas on an iconic trip that became really famous after 2020. Dennis was really wild off the court, but when it came to winning basketball games, he took things very seriously.
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