Dennis Rodman is living his best life today, but things weren’t always going this well for the Hall of Famer. Dennis grew up in poverty, and during an appearance on the Above The Rim with DH12 podcast, he spoke about the difficulties he faced before making it big.
“I didn’t play this game to be famous,” Dennis said. “Hell no. You know that wasn’t my goal. My goal is to come out here, play basketball, play hard. Just try to get out the ghetto, try to make something with my life. I’ve been homeless for four years in the streets. I know what that’s feel like. I don’t know what you guys know what it feels like to be homeless.
“You probably see a lot of people in New York homeless and stuff like that,” Dennis added. “That don’t feel too good, especially when it’s hot. But I got out of that.”
Dennis was born to Shirley and Philander Rodman Jr. on May 13, 1961, in Trenton, New Jersey. Philander, who was with the U.S. Air Force, left the family and settled in the Philippines when his son was young.
That left the responsibility of raising Dennis and his two older sisters, Debra and Kim, on Shirley’s shoulders. She took on multiple jobs to support her children, who grew up in Oak Cliff, an impoverished area in Dallas at the time.
While a young Dennis was very much attached to Shirley, she gave him an ultimatum after he graduated from high school. If he couldn’t find a job, he was going to be kicked out of the house.
Dennis couldn’t, and Shirley changed the locks. That was that. When Dennis couldn’t spend the night at a friend’s house, he resorted to sleeping at parks or even behind a 7-11. He would do odd jobs to make whatever money he could.
It looked like Dennis was set for a life full of hardships, but his fortunes would change. See, Debra and Kim were regarded as far better basketball prospects in high school than he was. Part of that was them being exceptional, and another was that he wasn’t tall.
Dennis stood at 5’6″ as a freshman in high school. Fortunately for him, he had a growth spurt after graduating, which changed everything.
Dennis would eventually grow to be about 6’7″ and became a force on the basketball court. He shone at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, averaging 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds over three seasons.
The Detroit Pistons would eventually select Dennis with the No. 27 pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. He would go on to win five NBA titles, two DPOYs, and seven rebounding titles in 14 seasons in the league.
According to Spotrac, Dennis earned $27 million in salary during his time in the NBA. He also played a game for $100,000 in Finland at the age of 44 after a GM spotted him at a bar. Talk about bizarre.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Dennis has a net worth of $500,000 today. The 65-year-old reckons he’d be a billionaire if social media existed during his NBA career. With the celebrity that surrounded Dennis back in the day, he definitely would be worth a whole lot more.
