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Home > NBA News & Analysis > Kobe Bryant Explained Why Dennis Rodman Was A Better Athlete Than Michael Jordan

Kobe Bryant Explained Why Dennis Rodman Was A Better Athlete Than Michael Jordan

Kobe Bryant agreed with Phil Jackson that Dennis Rodman was a better athlete than Michael Jordan.

Gautam Varier
Jan 24, 2023
4 Min Read
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Credit: Fadeaway World

Phil Jackson won a record 11 championships as a coach in the NBA to establish himself as one of the best to ever do it. Jackson was excellent when it came to handling big egos, and he had to be considering some of the players he coached.

Jackson was, of course, the coach with whom Michael Jordan won all 6 of his championships, and Kobe Bryant won his 5 titles under Jackson as well. While Jordan is regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest athlete to have played in the NBA, Jackson named Dennis Rodman the greatest athlete he ever coached back in 2008. Bryant was asked about Jackson’s comments back then, and he agreed with him, stating that Rodman was a better athlete than MJ.

via NBC Los Angeles:

When asked recently who the best athlete he ever coached was, Phil Jackson gave an interesting and somewhat surprising answer: Dennis Rodman.

The days of Kobe feuding with his coach are a distant memory, and as such, Kobe backed up Phil’s assertion by providing some testimony on the matter in Rodman’s behalf.

“I do not disagree with that at all,” said Bryant. “People obviously think of Jordan first, but as an athlete, Dennis was a freak of nature. In terms of his size, he ran like a deer, he could run all day, he could defend from the one position all the way up to the five. Look at one series when he was guarding Jordan when he was with Detroit, and fast forward to when he was with the Bulls and he was guarding Shaq. You don’t see athletes like that too often.”

Rodman couldn’t hold a candle to MJ or Bryant when it comes to basketball skills, but just in terms of being an athlete, there probably wasn’t anyone better. As Kobe stated, Rodman was athletic enough to guard all 5 positions, and he could seemingly run forever. Rodman also once revealed that Jackson called him the best player he has ever coached, and it seems pretty clear that he was a big admirer of Rodman.


Michael Jordan Shared A Hilarious Story About Dennis Rodman

Jordan and Rodman weren’t the best of friends during their time with the Chicago Bulls, but they worked exceptionally well together on the court. Jordan kept Rodman in check a lot of times, and the Bulls reaped the benefits from it.

To explain just how good of an athlete Rodman was, Jordan once shared the story of how Jackson wanted Rodman to get in shape. He had the team run around in practice, where the person at the front controlled the pace. MJ told the group to just jog, so they didn’t have to run, but Rodman didn’t listen and sped off. Jordan revealed that it took the Bulls 4 laps to catch up with Rodman, which shows how athletic he was even when he was out of shape.

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TAGGED:Dennis RodmanKobe BryantMichael Jordan
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ByGautam Varier
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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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