Dennis Rodman was always an eccentric player, he acted differently to what was expected of him and NBA players in general while being one of the greatest to ever play the game at the same time. Despite being undersized, Rodman was an incredible defender and rebounder, his tenacity on the floor was unmatched by anyone. This made him quite a valuable asset to teams and led to a stint with the Kobe-Shaq Lakers in 1999.
Even when he was a part of the Chicago Bulls, Rodman would often behave in erratic ways, some of which were well documented in The Last Dance documentary. Rodman was known for partying during the season and not having too many concerns about turning up on time for practice and such. This didn’t sit well with Kobe and Shaq, as Rodman recently revealed in an interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJB4wazdRdA
“So I started playing with Kobe and Shaq and stuff like that. So I would come to the stadium and people would come to see me because they haven’t seen me in six months. So Kobe and Shaq would be so envious of me.
They catered to me so much about me coming to the game, going out to the game, having parties, doing this, doing that, hotel stuff. They couldn’t stand me on that damn team, to be honest with you.”
What Rodman says may have some truth to it, since Kobe and Shaq hadn’t won a championship yet at that point, while Rodman was already a 5-time NBA champion. The jealousy aspect may be overstated, but it can safely be said that Rodman was a player that caught the attention of fans.
Rodman’s solitary season with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1998-99 season did not end well, the defensive star started just 11 games during his stint before being released by the franchise in the off-season. The Lakers will not have many regrets on that front, as they would go on to become NBA champions for the next 3 seasons in a row.
