Dennis Rodman is considered by many to be the greatest rebounder in NBA history, but Larry Johnson claims someone in his own family was better than him. During an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, Johnson said Dennis’ sister Debra Rodman was the better rebounder of the two.
“He have a sister named Debra Rodman, she’s the best rebounder in they family,” Johnson said. “… She went to Louisiana Tech, her name is Debra Rodman. Look her up. She look like him, she built like him… She was a motherf*****. When she was at Louisiana Tech, I think they beat Cheryl Miller and them… She was a beast. That’s the best rebounder in the family.”
Johnson grew up in the same neighborhood as Rodman, so he knew members of the family. Debra certainly made quite an impression on him and that’s not surprising when you look her up, as she had an incredible college career with the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters from 1980 to 1984.
Rodman, who stood at 6’3″, led the team to a ridiculous 130-6 record during her time there and helped them get to four Final Fours. They won back-to-back national titles in 1981 and 1982 to establish themselves as the dominant force of that age in women’s college basketball.
By the time Rodman’s Louisiana Tech career had ended, she had recorded 1,306 points on 54% shooting from the field and had hauled in 1,200 rebounds. She currently ranks 28th all-time for points and 2nd for rebounds in the history of the program.
Prior to her stellar college career, Rodman had played basketball for a year at South Oak Cliff High School in Texas. She averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds per game in that time and it’s safe to say she was a terrific rebounder.
Was Debra a better rebounder than Dennis, though? It’s hard to say, but let’s have a look at how Dennis fared in his college days. He averaged an impressive 17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in his single semester at Cooke County College (now North Central Texas College).
Dennis then transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State University and in three seasons there from 1983 to 1986, he averaged 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds. He led the NAIA in rebounding twice and a whole lot more rebounding crowns would follow during his time in the NBA.
Dennis won seven straight rebounding titles in the league from 1992 to 1998. He would end up averaging 13.1 rebounds per game in his NBA career, which ranks 11th all-time. You’d have to give him the edge based on all that, but Johnson swears Debra was the better of the two, so I’ll take his word.
Who Is Debra Rodman?
Debra was born in July 1962 and grew up in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas with her brother Dennis, sister Kim, and mother Shirley. Her father Philander had left the family when the children were young, which meant they relied heavily on Shirley.
Debra and Kim’s basketball talents were evident from a young age and it led to Shirley being more interested in them than Dennis, who wasn’t considered nearly as good as them. He even once admitted that he couldn’t beat his sisters when they were kids.
“I couldn’t beat them,” Dennis said. “They’d take me and a friend of mine out and beat us all the time.”
Kim would go on to become an All-American at Stephen F. Austin while Debra would go on to shine at Louisiana Tech as mentioned earlier. She was so well-known in the area, that Joe Dumars, who played at McNeese State, only knew Dennis as her little brother when the Detroit Pistons drafted him in the second round in 1986.
“I knew her from way back in college and I knew that was her little brother,” Dumars said. “So that’s how I knew Dennis Rodman – Debra’s little brother.”
Following her time in college, Debra went pro and joined the Dallas Diamonds in 1984. She would later head overseas to play in Italy and got into coaching post-retirement. For all her contributions, Debra was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 23, 2018.
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