Dennis Rodman was one of the most interesting characters to ever play in the NBA thanks to his off-the-court antics, but when it came to putting in the work, he did that too.
Kevin Garnett in his book, KG: A to Z: An Uncensored Encyclopedia of Life, Basketball, and Everything in Between, shared a wild story about an interaction between him and Rodman.
“Say what you want about Worm-one of the illest rebounders and most flamboyant brothas ever to play sports-but the thing I cherish most is his stamina. I saw it firsthand. T-wolves and Bulls just finished a blood-stained battle at the target center. Rugged,mean, mano a Mano. Went into overtime. Overtime rougher than regulation. Finally, squeezed it out. Might have been the first time Minny ever beat Chicago. We acting like we world champs. Confetti and s***.”
Garnett is referring here to a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1997, where the Timberwolves won 99-95, although the game didn’t go to overtime. It was the first time that they had beaten the Bulls and Garnett played his part, finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. In the weight room afterward, Garnett encountered Rodman and was blown away by his actions.
“After the game, I go to our weight room, not to work out but to decompress. I’m sitting there when who struts in but Rodman, wearing these big a** combat boots that come up to his knees. He’s wearing sweats and combat boots! It’s him and his trainer. He looks at me right quick and says, “Good game, young fella. Love your energy.” Then he climbs on the treadmill and runs like he just robbed a bank with the Law hot on his a**, all the while talking s*** to me.”
Rodman had played over 44 minutes in that game and here he was running at full tilt on the treadmill not long after, while his younger counterpart was just there to decompress. A bit of Rodman’s intensity that day might have rubbed off on Garnett as he clearly made quite an impression on the youngster.
Phil Jackson Said Dennis Rodman Was The Best Athlete He Ever Coached
He made quite an impression on Phil Jackson as well, with Rodman saying that Jackson once called him the best player he coached. While Jackson never said that publically, he did actually pick Rodman over the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the best athlete he ever coached.
Bryant agreed with Jackson too, as he called Rodman a freak of nature. Kobe said Rodman could run all day and could guard all five positions on the court, which he certainly could. Bryant ended by saying that you don’t see athletes like Rodman too often, which is definitely some high praise.
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