Dennis Rodman was not your average superstar of the game. He wasn’t famous for scoring a huge number of points in games or dishing out double-digit assists. But what Rodman did do was grab rebounds with ease on a nightly basis.
On top of being arguably one of the best rebounders in NBA history, Rodman was also known for playing mind games against his opponents. Sure, he was very physical on the court and that tired out his opponents, but players can easily recover from that through the course of the game.
But when a player is mentally broken and has already accepted defeat, it is hard to make a comeback no matter how good the team was. A great example of the Worm’s mind games was seen back in 1997 against the Miami Heat.
In the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals, Rodman was a different beast and never let the Heat players catch a break throughout the series. Instagram page “Oldskoolbball” recently posted a clip from the series which highlighted how well Rodman played in the series. The IG page even compared Rodman’s mind games to that of popular DC comics villain ‘Joker’.
Fans loved the way Rodman overwhelmed the entire Miami Heat team with his mind games and almost became unplayable for them. Here are some of the best reactions posted in the comments section of the Instagram post:
jenelle_jones33.7: “Why Chicago never retired #91 .”
iam_greatnesss: “Rodman would’ve dominated todays players even more than he did back then.”
swaze_1: “The most exciting team to watch ever! For those who witnessed the mayhem the Bulls were like a rock band was in town, shit was next level, oh & having “the goat” the most exciting player ever solidified how great & special the Bulls were .”
_goldie_01: “Dennis Rodman.. he was a true genius on the court. .”
da.gmoney: “I miss this era of toughness, when you had to be tougher than Teflon to survive. How did the league become softer than the Pillsbury doughboy.”
lesleyt007: “I think his Greatness is greatly unappreciated…”
wolverine83.0: “Self-control and calm by Rodman…never the first to begin the fight… .”
exclusivelynjoku_: “This would be a $25,000 fine and a 9 game ejection in today’s game. These youngstas don’t know.”
robby_atmaja: “That’s what you get when you let The Worm inside your head… Hahahaha. Dennis Rodman is a warrior.”
Like most fans pointed out, Dennis Rodman’s impact on every game that he played was severely underappreciated.
What he did on the court might not always appear on the box score, but it helped the Chicago Bulls dominate many teams with ease.
