ESPN's The Last Dance is a look behind the curtain at one of the most interesting teams in professional sports. With interesting teams, come interesting players, none more fascinating than Dennis Rodman. Throughout night two of The Last Dance (episodes three and four), viewers got a look at the whirlwind of a player and person that was Dennis Rodman.
Rodman was unique, but you could tell that just by looking at him. While it is now commonplace for NBA players to make fashion statements when walking into the arena, Rodman was the original. He stood out more than anyone else. It wasn't unusual to find him with bleached hair for opening night, green hair at the All-Star break, and pink hair by the playoffs. But Rodman didn't always stand out the way he did by the end of his tenure with the Bulls. The Last Dance covers the progression from abandoned youth to a five-time NBA champion.
Dennis Rodman was born in Trenton, New Jersey. His father abandoned the family when he was three. His mother moved Dennis and his sisters to Dallas, so she could find work. Dennis was often bullied, alone and at one point lived on the streets after being kicked out by his mother when he didn't find a job.
"I could've been a drug dealer. I could've been dead," Rodman said while being interviewed for The Last Dance. "I don't know why I never did that drug stuff, but I never did. I'd just sit there and watch them do it, watch them sell it and stuff like that, and I'd walk out the door every day. I was fortunate to pick up a basketball at start playing. And I just got lucky that some guy from some college said, 'Dennis you want to play for us?'"
Rodman was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1986. The "Bad Boy" Pistons were known for their vicious style of play, and Rodman was one of the players at the center of it. The Pistons ended the Celtics' run in the 80s and stymied the Bulls led by Michael Jordan. In between the two dynasties, they won back to back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.
In 1992, Rodman had grown increasingly erratic. He skipped training camp, refused to go on a road trip, and generally did not seem interested in playing for Detroit. In February of 1993, he was found passed out in his car outside the Pistons facility with a gun. He later demanded a trade and was dealt to the San Antonio Spurs.
The documentary mentions that it was while playing for the Spurs, he began a relationship with Madonna, whose head he turned at a game following the blonde dyeing of his hair. Rodman credits the singer with teaching him to unapologetically be himself. As Rodman came into his own more and more, it was often at the expense of the Spurs. He was often fined and suspended, and an overall distraction for the team. In 1995, he was once again traded, this time, to his old rivals the Bulls.
Prior to stepping on the court with the Bulls, he met with Phil Jackson, and a beautiful relationship began. When Jackson asked him if he wanted to play with them, and Rodman mumbled back "I don't care. Whatever, what's up?" Jackson made him stand up, take his hat off, and shake hands. Jackson was a coach that commanded respect. He knew just how far to push Rodman, and when to give him some leash. Jackson and Rodman bonded over watching game tape and their appreciation of Native American culture.
“Dennis and I had this Native American bond between us,” Jackson said. “In the team room I had a bear claw necklace, a turtle shell that came from another reservation and various other Indian artifacts.”
“Dennis is like, ‘Wow, I have this necklace from the Ponca Indians in Oklahoma. I’m hip to that.’ I say, “Well Dennis, in their tradition, and the tradition that I knew, you would be a heyoka — a backward-walking person. They were people that were different and they were a heyoka. So you’re the heyoka in this tribe.”
Rodman responded well to Jackson.
“Phil realized that I was different, man,” Rodman said. “Phil knew me so well because he knew I needed to get my head right. That’s what was so cool about playing with that team. If anybody needed something, they were all about it. And Phil was very cool about it.”
Rodman was a key piece of the Bulls second three-peat. He was one of the best defensive players ever, and the most dominant rebounder to ever play the game. He won seven-straight rebounding champions from 1992-1998. He made the skill an art and knew where to position himself just by the way a player shot the ball.
In 1997, when Scottie Pippen had still not joined the team, he stepped up and became Jordan's number two. When Pippen returned, Rodman, who had been on his best behavior, needed to blow off some steam. He asked Jackson and MJ for 48-hours to fly to Vegas. Jackson allowed it and Rodman and Carmen Electra jetted off for sin city. When 48 hours came and went, Phil sent Jordan off to Vegas to bring back Rodman. Upon arriving back at practice, Jackson put the players through a conditioning drill thinking he needed to get Rodman back in shape. Rodman smoked them all.
That was Dennis Rodman, he would party all night, show up to the arena in an outfit like nobody had ever seen, put you through hell on the court, and be unapologetic the entire time.
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