There has been no one like Dennis Rodman in the NBA since he retired. The vivacious forward won two championships with the Detroit Pistons and three with the Chicago Bulls, but he was equally memorable off the court.
By 1993, Dennis Rodman was on his way out of Detroit despite finding success there. His quirky personality started coming out during this time, and one of the earliest instances was recorded by Michael Wilbon for the Washington Post.
“There was Dennis Rodman sitting on the Detroit Pistons bench, the visitors’ bench, at USAir Arena. He was calm, even serene. Too calm, in fact. Rodman, you see, had taken off his shoes. His socks were pulled down. His legs were crossed. There was something that looked like a cape draped around him, a towel on his lap.
“He was so far down the end of the bench there must have been paying customers sitting between him and the rest of the Pistons. Rodman looked, well, detached, like he was sitting on the lido deck of a cruise ship waiting for the cabin steward to deliver a gin and juice. And that wasn’t the worst of it. As God is my witness, Dennis Rodman was reading a magazine. During the game! Like he was at B. Dalton’s.”
There is a level of good conduct expected from NBA players while the game is on, and during the 90s, Dennis Rodman doing such a thing was unheard of. It’s not surprising his time with the Pistons after was shortlived, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 1993. His troubles would continue with the Spurs, where his off-the-court shenanigans got even more intense.
Dennis Rodman Even Got Himself Ejected From A Game On Purpose
Dennis Rodman was a winning player on the court, but he had other priorities as well. Rodman famously loved to live a party lifestyle and that sometimes affected his career. A famous story is when he purposefully got himself ejected from a game to go meet Mike Tyson for dinner.
“In his 1997 book, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ Rodman detailed that he intentionally got ejected from a Chicago Bulls game to make it in time for a reservation with Tyson. First, he tried to sit out that game, but Phil Jackson didn’t allow him. Then, he took care of things and got two technical fouls, getting ejected from the game.”
Dennis Rodman’s achievements speak for themselves, he was a 2-time Defensive Player Of The Year, 7-time rebounding champion, and won five championships. But the quality play came with a wild personality, and the result is that Rodman can never be forgotten.
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