Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The Worm" and was known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities. Playing small forward in his early years before becoming a power forward, Rodman earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice. He also led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and won five NBA championships (1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998). His biography at NBA.com states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". On April 1, 2011, the Pistons retired Rodman's #10 jersey.[1] Later that same year, Rodman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[2]
Rodman experienced an unhappy childhood and was shy and introverted in his early years. After aborting a suicide attempt in 1993, he reinvented himself as a "bad boy" and became notorious for numerous controversial antics. He dyed his hair in artificial colors, presented himself with many piercings and tattoos and regularly disrupted games by clashing with opposing players and officials. He famously wore a wedding dress to promote his autobiography. Rodman pursued a high-profile affair with singer Madonna and was briefly married to actress Carmen Electra.
Apart from basketball, Rodman is a retired part-time professional wrestler and actor. He was a member of the nWo and fought alongside Hulk Hogan at two Bash at the Beach events. He had his own TV show, The Rodman World Tour, and had lead roles in the action films Simon Sez and Double Team alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. Both films were severely critically panned, with the latter earning Rodman a triple Razzie Award. He appeared in several reality TV series and was the winner of the $222,000 main prize of the 2004 edition of Celebrity Mole. Rodman also won the first ever Celebrity Championship Wrestling tournament.
Dennis Rodman was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Shirley and Philander Rodman, Jr., an Air Force pilot, later a veteran of the Vietnam War after Rodman's birth. When he was young, his father left his family, eventually settling in The Philippines.[3] Rodman has many brothers and sisters: according to his father, he has either 26 or 28 siblings on his father's side; however, Rodman himself has stated that he is the oldest of a total of 47 children.[3][4][5] After his father left, Shirley took many odd jobs — at times, four at the same time — to support her family.[6] In his 1997 biography Bad As I Wanna Be, he expresses his disgust and hate for his father: "I haven't seen my father in more than 30 years, so what's there to miss ... I just look at it like this: Some man brought me into this world. That doesn't mean I have a father."[3] The impoverished Rodman and his two sisters, Debra and Kim,[7] grew up in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas,[8] considered one of the worst areas of Dallas in those times.[9] Rodman was so attached to his mother that he refused to move when she sent him to a nursery when he was four years old. According to Rodman, Shirley Rodman was more interested in his two sisters Debra and Kim, who were both considered more talented than he was in basketball, and made him a laughingstock whenever he tagged along with them. He felt generally "overwhelmed" by the all-female household.[10] Debra and Kim would go on to become All-Americans at Louisiana Tech and Stephen F. Austin, respectively, as Debra would win two national titles with the Lady Techsters.[7]
When Rodman experienced his growth spurt, he became even more withdrawn because he felt odd in his own body.[10] Rodman was so insecure around women that he thought he was homosexual in his teens. He lost his virginity when he was 20 years old and had his first sexual experience with a prostitute; he described this as an unpleasant experience.[11]
While attending South Oak Cliff High School, Rodman played under future Texas A&M coach Gary Blair.[7] However, Rodman was not considered an athletic standout. According to himself, he was "unable to hit a layup" and was listed in the high school basketball teams, but was either benched or cut from the squads. Measuring only 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) as a freshman in high school,[6] he also failed to make the football teams and was "totally devastated".[10] After finishing school, Rodman worked as an overnight janitor at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. He experienced a sudden growth spurt, and decided to give basketball another shot.[12]
A family friend tipped off the head coach of Cooke County College in Gainesville, Texas. In his single semester there, he averaged 17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds, before flunking out due to poor academic performance.[6] After his short stint in Gainesville, he transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State University, an NAIA school. There, Rodman was a three-time NAIA All-American and led the NAIA in rebounding in both the 1984–1985 and 1985–1986 seasons. In three seasons there, 1983–1984 through 1985–1986, he averaged 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds,[13] led the NAIA in rebounding twice and registered a .637 field goal percentage.[12] At the Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-draft camp for NBA hopefuls, he won Most Valuable Player honors and caught the attention of the Detroit Pistons.[6]
During this time, Rodman worked at a summer youth basketball camp, where he befriended camper Bryne Rich, who was shy and withdrawn, following a hunting accident in which he mistakenly shot and killed his best friend. The two became almost inseparable and formed a bond. Rich invited Rodman to his rural Oklahoma home; at first, Rodman was not well-received by the Riches due to being an African-American. But, the Riches were so grateful to him for bringing their son out of his shell that they were able to set aside their prejudices.[14] Although Rodman had severe family and personal issues himself, he "adopted" the Riches as his own in 1982 and went from the city life to "driving a tractor and messing with cows."[14] Rodman credits the Riches as his "surrogate family" that helped him through college.
Rodman made himself eligible for the 1986 NBA Draft. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons as the 3rd pick in the second round (27th overall), joining the rugged team of coach Chuck Daly that was called "Bad Boys" for their hard-nosed approach to basketball. The squad featured Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars at the guard positions, Adrian Dantley and Sidney Green at forward, and center Bill Laimbeer. Bench players who played more than 15 minutes per game were sixth man Vinnie Johnson and the backup forwards Rick Mahorn and John Salley.[15] Rodman fit well into this ensemble, providing 6.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and some tough defense in 15.0 minutes of playing time per game.[13] Winning 52 games, the Pistons comfortably entered the 1987 NBA Playoffs. They swept the Washington Bullets and soundly beat the Atlanta Hawks in five games, but bowed out in seven matches against the archrival Boston Celtics in what was called one of the physically and mentally toughest series ever. Rodman feuded with Celtics guard Dennis Johnson and taunted Johnson in the closing seconds when he waved his right hand over his own head. When the Celtics took Game Seven, Johnson went back at Rodman in the last moments of the game and mimicked his taunting gesture.[16] After the loss, Rodman made headlines by directly accusing Celtics star Larry Bird of being overrated because he was white: "Larry Bird is overrated in a lot of areas. ... Why does he get so much publicity? Because he's white. You never hear about a black player being the greatest." Although teammate Thomas supported him, he endured harsh criticism, but avoided being called a racist because, according to him, his own girlfriend Anicka "Annie" Bakes was white.[6][10]
In the following 1987–1988 season, Rodman steadily improved his stats, averaging 11.6 points and 8.7 rebounds and starting in 32 of 82 regular season games.[13] The Pistons fought their way into the 1988 NBA Finals, and took a 3–2 lead, but lost in seven games against the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game Six, the Pistons were down by one point with eight seconds to go; Dumars missed a shot, and Rodman just fell short of an offensive rebound and a putback which could have won the title. In Game Seven, L.A. led by 15 points in the fourth quarter, but Rodman’s defense helped cut down the lead to six with 3:52 minutes to go and to two with one minute to go. But then, he fouled Magic Johnson, who hit a free throw, missed an ill-advised shot with 39 seconds to go, and the Pistons never recovered.[17] In that year, his girlfriend Annie bore him a daughter named Alexis.[6]
Rodman remained a bench player during the 1988–1989 season, averaging 9.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in 27 minutes, yet providing such effective defense that he was voted into the All-Defensive Team, the first of eight times in his career.[13] He also began seeing more playing time after Adrian Dantley was traded at midseason to Dallas for Mark Aguirre. In that season, the Pistons finally vanquished their playoffs bane by sweeping the Boston Celtics, winning in six games versus the Chicago Bulls and scoring champion Michael Jordan then easily defeating the Lakers 4–0 in the 1989 NBA Finals. Although he was hampered by back spasms, Rodman dominated the boards, grabbing 19 rebounds in Game 3 and providing tough interior defense.[18]
In the 1989–1990 season, Detroit lost perennial defensive forward Rick Mahorn when he was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves in that year's expansion draft and ended up on the Philadelphia 76ers when the Pistons could not reacquire him. It was feared that the loss of Mahorn – average in talent, but high on hustle and widely considered a vital cog of the "Bad Boys" teams – would diminish the Pistons’ spirit, but Rodman seamlessly took over his role.[19] He went on to win his first big individual accolade. Averaging 8.8 points and 9.7 rebounds while starting in the last 43 regular season games, he established himself as the best defensive player in the game; during this period, the Pistons won 59 games, and Rodman was lauded by the NBA "for his defense and rebounding skills, which were unparalleled in the league".[12] For his feats, he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award; he also connected on a .595 field goal percentage, which made him the most precise shooter of the league.[13] In the 1990 NBA Playoffs, the Pistons beat the Bulls again, and in the 1990 NBA Finals, Detroit met the Portland Trail Blazers. Rodman suffered from an injured ankle and was often replaced by Mark Aguirre, but even without his defensive hustle, Detroit beat Portland in five games and claimed their second title.[19]
During the 1990–1991 season, Rodman finally established himself as the starting small forward of the Pistons. He played such strong defense that the NBA stated he "could shut down any opposing player, from point guard to center".[12] After coming off the bench for most of his earlier years, he finally started in 77 of the 82 regular season games, averaged 8.2 points and 12.5 rebounds and won his second Defensive Player of the Year Award.[13] In the 1991 NBA Playoffs, however, the Pistons were swept by the championship-winning Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the 1991–1992 season where Rodman made a remarkable leap in his rebounding, collecting an astounding 18.7 rebounds per game (1,530 in total), winning his first of seven consecutive rebounding crowns, along with scoring 9.8 points per game, and making his first All-NBA Team.[13] His 1,530 rebounds (the most since Wilt Chamberlain's 1,572 in the 1971–1972 season) have never been surpassed since then; the best mark not set by Rodman is by Kevin Willis, who grabbed 1,258 boards in 1991–1992.[20] In a March 1992 game, Rodman totaled a career high 34 rebounds.[21] However, the aging Pistons were eliminated by the upcoming New York Knicks in the First Round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs.
Rodman experienced a tough loss when coach Chuck Daly, whom he had admired as a surrogate father, resigned in May; Rodman skipped the preseason camp and was fined $68,000.[6] The following 1992–1993 season was even more tumultuous. He finally married Annie Bakes, the mother of his four year old daughter Alexis, in September 1992. The marriage went sour quickly and Bakes divorced him in December, an experience which left him traumatized.[22] The Pistons won only 40 games and missed the 1993 NBA Playoffs entirely. One night in February 1993, Rodman was found asleep in his car with a loaded rifle. Four years later in his biography As Bad As I Wanna Be, he confessed having thought about suicide and described that night as an epiphany: "I decided that instead [of killing myself] I was gonna kill the impostor that was leading Dennis Rodman to a place he didn't want to go ... So I just said, 'I'm going to live my life the way I want to live it and be happy doing it.' At that moment I tamed [sic] my whole life around. I killed the person I didn't want to be."[9] Although he had three years and $11.8 million remaining on his contract, Rodman demanded a trade. On October 1, 1993, the Pistons dealt him to the San Antonio Spurs.[6]
In the 1993–1994 NBA season, Rodman joined a Spurs team which was built around perennial All-Star center David Robinson, with a supporting cast of forwards Dale Ellis, Willie Anderson and guard Vinnie Del Negro.[23] On the hardwood, Rodman now was played as a power forward and won his third straight rebounding title, averaging 17.3 boards per game along with a career-low 4.7 points, but yet another All-Defensive Team call-up.[13] Living up to his promise of killing the "shy imposter" and "being himself" instead, Rodman began to show first signs of bizarre behaviour: before the first game, he shaved his hair and dyed it blonde, which was followed up by stints with red, purple, blue hair and a look inspired from the film Demolition Man.[12] During the season, he headbutted Stacey King and John Stockton, refused to leave the hardwood once after being ejected, and had a highly-publicized two month affair with Madonna.[6][24] The only player to whom Rodman related was reserve center Jack Haley, who won his trust by not being shocked after a visit to a gay bar.[25] However, despite a 55-win season, Rodman and the Spurs did not survive the First Round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs and bowed out against the Utah Jazz in four games.
In the following 1994–1995 NBA season, Rodman clashed with the Spurs front office. He was suspended for the first three games, took a leave of absence on November 11, and was suspended again on December 7. He finally returned on December 10 after missing 19 games.[12] After joining the team, he suffered a shoulder separation in a motorcycle accident, limiting his season to 49 games. Normally, he would not have qualified for any season records for missing so many games, but by grabbing 823 rebounds, he just surpassed the 800-rebound limit for listing players and won his fourth straight rebounding title by averaging 16.8 boards per game and made the All-NBA Team.[12] In the 1995 NBA Playoffs, the 62-win Spurs with reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Award winner Robinson entered the Western Conference Finals and were considered favorites against the reigning champions Houston Rockets who had only won 47 games. It was thought that Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon would have a hard time asserting himself versus Robinson and Rodman, who had both been voted into the NBA All-Defensive Teams. However, neither Robinson nor Rodman, who had disrupted a playoff game against the Lakers by sitting down on the court,[12] could stop Olajuwon, who averaged 35.3 points against the elite defensive Spurs frontcourt, and helped eliminate the Spurs in six games.
Rodman admitted his frequent transgressions, but asserted that he lived his own life and thus a more honest life than most other people:
"I just took the chance to be my own man ... I just said: 'If you don't like it, kiss my ass.' ... Most people around the country, or around the world, are basically working people who want to be free, who want to be themselves. They look at me and see someone trying to do that ... I'm the guy who's showing people, hey, it's all right to be different. And I think they feel: 'Let's go and see this guy entertain us.'"[9]
Prior to the 1995–1996 NBA season, Rodman was traded to the Chicago Bulls of perennial scoring champion Michael Jordan for center Will Perdue and cash considerations to fill a large void at power forward left by Horace Grant, who left the Bulls prior to the 1994–1995 season.[26] Although the trade for the already 34 year old and volatile Rodman was considered a gamble at that time,[12] the power forward quickly adapted to his new environment, helped by the fact that his best friend Jack Haley was also traded to the Bulls. Under coach Phil Jackson, he averaged 5.5 points and 14.9 rebounds per game, winning yet another rebounding title, and was part of the great Bulls team that won 72 of 82 regular season games, an all-time NBA record.[27] About playing next to iconic Jordan and hard-working Scottie Pippen, Rodman said:
"On the court, me and Michael are pretty calm and we can handle conversation. But as far as our lives go, I think he is moving in one direction and I'm going in the other. I mean, he's goin' north, I'm goin' south. And then you've got Scottie Pippen right in the middle. He's sort of the equator."[9]
Although struggling with calf problems early in the season, Rodman grabbed 20 or more rebounds 11 times and had his first triple-double against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 16, 1996 scoring 10 points and adding 21 rebounds and 10 assists; by playing his trademark tough defense, he joined Jordan and Pippen in the All-NBA Defense First Team, making it the first time that three players from the same NBA team made the All-NBA Defensive First Team.[12] Ever controversial, Rodman made negative headlines after a head butt of referee Ted Bernhardt during a game in New Jersey on March 16, 1996; he was suspended for six games and fined $20,000, a punishment that was criticized as too lenient by the local press.[28] In the 1996 NBA Playoffs, Rodman scored 7.5 points and grabbed 13.7 rebounds per game and had a large part in the six-game victory against the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals: in Game Two at home in the Bulls' United Center, he grabbed 20 rebounds, among them a record-tying 11 offensive boards, and in Game Six, again at the United Center, the power forward secured 19 rebounds and again 11 offensive boards, scored five points in a decisive 12–2 Bulls run, unnerved opposing power forward Shawn Kemp and caused Seattle coach George Karl to say: "As you evaluate the series, Dennis Rodman won two basketball games. We controlled Dennis Rodman for four games. But Game 2 and tonight, he was the reason they were successful."[29] His two games with 11 offensive rebounds each tied the NBA Finals record of Elvin Hayes.[12]
In the 1996–1997 NBA season, Rodman won his sixth rebounding title in a row with 16.7 boards per game, along with 5.7 points per game, but failed to rank another All-Defensive Team call-up.[13] However, he made more headlines for his notorious behavior: on January 15, 1997, he was involved in another incident during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After tripping over cameraman Eugene Amos, Rodman kicked Amos in the groin. Though he was not assessed a technical foul at the time, he ultimately paid Amos a $200,000 settlement, the league suspended Rodman for 11 games without pay, thus he effectively lost $1 million.[30] Missing another three games to suspensions, often getting technical fouls early in games[12] and missing an additional 13 matches due to knee problems, Rodman was not as effective in the 1997 NBA Playoffs, in which the Bulls reached the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. There, he struggled to slow down Jazz power forward Karl Malone, but did his share to complete the six-game Bulls victory.[31]
The regular season of the 1997–1998 NBA season ended with Rodman winning his seventh consecutive rebounding title with 15.0 boards per game, along with 4.7 points per game.[13] He grabbed 20 or more rebounds 11 times, among them a 29-board outburst against the Atlanta Hawks and 15 offensive boards (along with ten defensive) versus the Los Angeles Clippers.[12] Led by the aging Jordan and Rodman (respectively 35 and 37 years old), the Bulls reached the 1998 NBA Finals, again versus the Jazz. After playing strong defense on Karl Malone in the first three games,[32] he caused major consternation when he left his team prior to Game Four to go wrestling with Hulk Hogan. He was fined $20,000, but it was not even ten percent of what he earned with this stint.[24] However, Rodman’s on-court performance remained top-notch, again shutting down Malone in Game Four until the latter scored 39 points in a Jazz Game Five win, bringing the series to 3–2 from the Bulls perspective. In Game Six, Jordan hit the decisive basket after a memorable drive on Jazz forward Bryon Russell, the Bulls won their third title in a row and Rodman his fifth ring.[32]
Rodman garnered as much publicity for his public antics as he did for his basketball playing. He dated Madonna and claimed she tried to conceive a child with him.[24] Shortly after, Rodman famously wore a wedding dress to promote his autobiography Bad As I Wanna Be, claimed that he was bisexual and that he was "marrying himself".[24]
After the 1997–1998 NBA season, the Bulls started a massive rebuilding phase, largely at the behest of then-general manager Jerry Krause. Head coach Phil Jackson and several members of the team left via free agency or retirement, including Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler.[33] Rodman was released by the Bulls on January 21, 1999, before the start of the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season. With his sister acting as his agent at the time Rodman joined the Los Angeles Lakers, for a pro-rated salary for the remainder of the 1998–1999 season. With the Lakers he only played in 23 games and was released.[13] In the 1999–2000 NBA season, the then 38 year old power forward was signed by the Dallas Mavericks, meaning that Rodman returned to the place where he grew up. For the Mavericks, he played 12 games, was ejected twice and alienated the franchise with his erratic behavior until he was waived again; Dallas guard Steve Nash commented that Rodman "never wanted to be [a Maverick]" and therefore was unmotivated.[34]
|
|
| GP |
Games played |
GS |
Games started |
MIN |
Minutes per game |
| FG% |
Field-goal percentage |
3P% |
3-point field-goal percentage |
FT% |
Free-throw percentage |
| OFF |
Offensive rebounds per game |
DEF |
Defensive rebounds per game |
RPG |
Total rebounds per game |
| APG |
Assists per game |
SPG |
Steals per game |
BPG |
Blocks per game |
| TOV |
Turnovers per game |
PF |
Fouls per game |
PPG |
Points per game |
|
After his NBA career, Rodman took a long break from basketball and concentrated on his film career and on wrestling.
After a longer hiatus, Rodman returned to play basketball for the Long Beach Jam of the newly-formed American Basketball Association during the 2003–2004 season, with hopes of being called up to the NBA midseason.[35] In the following 2004–2005 season, he signed with the ABA's Orange County Crush[36] and the following season with the league's Tijuana Dragons.[37] After retiring from wrestling, Rodman became Commissioner of the Lingerie Football League in 2005.[24] The return to the NBA never materialized, but on January 26, 2006, it was announced that Rodman had signed a one-game "experiment" deal for the UK basketball team Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League to play Guildford Heat on January 28,[38] and went on to play three games for the Bears.[37] In spring 2006, he played two exhibition games in the Philippines along with NBA ex-stars Darryl Dawkins, Kevin Willis, Calvin Murphy, Otis Birdsong and Alex English. On April 27, they defeated a team of former Philippine Basketball Association stars in Mandaue City, Cebu and Rodman scored five points and grabbed 18 rebounds.[39] On May 1, 2006, Rodman's team played their second game and lost to the Philippine national basketball team 110–102 at the Araneta Coliseum, where he scored three points and recorded 16 rebounds.[40]
In 2005, Rodman made two visits to Finland. At first, he was present at Sonkajärvi in July in a wife-carrying contest. However, he resigned from the contest due to health problems.[41] In November, he played one match for Torpan Pojat of the Finland's basketball league, Korisliiga.[24][42]
That same year, Rodman published his second autobiography I Should Be Dead By Now and promoted this by sitting in a coffin.[24]
On April 4, 2011, it was announced that Rodman would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[43]
Top career rebounding averages since 1973
| Player |
Height [44] |
Minutes per
game |
Offensive
rebounds |
Defensive
rebounds |
Total
rebounds |
Games
played |
Rebounds per
game |
Rebounds per
48 minutes |
| Rodman, DennisDennis Rodman* |
06-06 !6'6" |
31.7 |
4,329 |
7,625 |
11,954 |
911 |
13.1 |
19.9 |
| Malone, MosesMoses Malone* |
06-10 !6'10" |
33.9 |
6,731 |
9,481 |
16,212 |
1,329 |
12.2 |
17.3 |
| Howard, DwightDwight Howard^ |
06-11 !6'11" |
36.0 |
2,066 |
5,221 |
7,287 |
567 |
12.9 |
17.1 |
| Barkley, CharlesCharles Barkley* |
06-06 !6'6" |
36.7 |
4,260 |
8,286 |
12,546 |
1,073 |
11.7 |
15.3 |
| Duncan, TimTim Duncan^ |
06-11 !6'11" |
35.8 |
3,182 |
8,831 |
12,013 |
1,053 |
11.4 |
15.3 |
Top rebounding seasons since 1973
From the beginning of his career Rodman was known for his defensive hustle, which was later accompanied by his rebounding prowess. In Detroit, he was mainly played as a small forward, and his usual assignment was to neutralize the opponent's best player; Rodman was so versatile that he could guard centers, forwards or guards equally well[12] and won two NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards. From 1991 on, he established himself as one of the best rebounders of all time, averaging at least 15 rebounds per game in six of the next seven years.[13] Playing power forward as member of the Spurs and the Bulls, he had a historical outburst in the 1996 NBA Finals: he twice snared 11 offensive rebounds, equalling an all-time NBA record. In addition, his career-high 34-rebound game on March 4, 1992, is the third-highest number of rebounds in a game since the 1972–73 season, topped only by Charles Oakley's 35-rebound game on April 22, 1988, and Moses Malone's 37-rebound game on February 9, 1979.[45]
On offense, Rodman's output was mediocre. He averaged 11.6 points per game in his sophomore season, but his average steadily dropped: in the three championship seasons with the Bulls, he averaged five points per game and connected on less than half of his field goal attempts.[13] His free throw shooting (lifetime average: .584) was considered a big liability: on December 29, 1997, Bubba Wells of the Dallas Mavericks committed six intentional fouls against him in only three minutes, setting the record for the fastest foul out in NBA history. This was Dallas coach Don Nelson's early version of what would later develop into the famous "Hack-a-Shaq" method that would be implemented against Shaquille O'Neal and other poor free throw shooters. The intention was to force him to attempt free throws, which in theory would mean frequent misses and easy ball possession without giving up too many points. However, this plan backfired, as Rodman hit 9 of the 12 attempts.[46]
In 14 NBA seasons, Rodman played in 911 games, scored 6,683 points and grabbed 11,954 rebounds, translating to 7.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game in only 31.7 minutes played per game.[13][20] NBA.com lauds Rodman as "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history and one of the most recognized athletes in the world" but adds "enigmatic and individualistic, Rodman has caught the public eye for his ever-changing hair color, tattoos and unorthodox lifestyle".[12] On the hardwood, he was recognized as one of the most successful defensive players ever, winning the NBA championship five times in six NBA Finals appearances (1989, 1990, 1996–1998; only loss 1988), being crowned NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice (1990–1991) and making seven NBA All-Defensive First Teams (1989–1993, 1995–1996) and NBA All-Defensive Second Teams (1994). He additionally made two All-NBA Third Teams (1992, 1995), two NBA All-Star Teams (1990, 1992) and won seven straight rebounding crowns (1992–1998) and finally led the league once in field goal percentage (1989).[13] However, he was recognized as the prototype bizarre player, stunning basketball fans with his artificial hair colors, numerous tattoos and body piercings, multiple verbal and physical assaults on officials, frequent ejections, and his tumultuous private life.[12] He was ranked #48 on the 2009 revision of SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-Time.
After getting suspended for the rest of the 1996–1997 NBA season, Rodman seriously took up his hobby of professional wrestling and appeared on the March 10 edition of Monday Nitro with his friend Hollywood Hulk Hogan in World Championship Wrestling. At the March 1997 Uncensored event, he appeared as a member of the nWo. His first match was at the July 1997 Bash at the Beach event, where he teamed with Hogan in a loss to Lex Luger and The Giant.[37] At the August 1997 Road Wild event, Rodman appeared as the Impostor Sting hitting Luger with a baseball bat to make Hogan win back the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
After the 1997–1998 NBA season, Rodman and Malone squared off again, this time in wrestling at the July 1998 edition of Bash at the Beach. He fought alongside Hulk Hogan, and Malone tagged along with Diamond Dallas Page. In a poorly-received match, the two power forwards exchanged "rudimentary headlocks, slams and clotheslines" for 23 minutes.[49]
In 1999, Rodman began a feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage. They had a match at the August 1999 Road Wild event, during which Savage shoved him in a portable toilet and eventually won the match after hitting Rodman with a chain.[50]
On July 30, 2000, for the i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling pay-per-view event, he fought against i-Generation Champion Curt Hennig in a Australian Outback match. The event was subtitled Rodman Down Under.[51] Hennig won the match by disqualification. Rodman refrained from wrestling at the top level and retired.[24]
On the July 2, 2004, edition of Impact!, Rodman made an appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he sat at ringside during a match between the 3 Live Kru and Team Canada.[47]
In 1996, Rodman had his own MTV reality talk show called The Rodman World Tour, which featured him in a series of odd-ball situations.[52] This show was produced by Patrick Byrnes and written by Tom Cohen and Matt Price. A year later, he made his feature film debut in the action film Double Team alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film was critically panned and his performance earned him three Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst New Star, Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Screen Couple (shared with Van Damme).[53] Rodman starred in Simon Sez, a 1999 action/comedy and co-starred with Tom Berenger in a 2000 action film about skydiving titled Cutaway.[54] In 1998, he joined the cast of the syndicated TV show Special Ops Force, playing 'Deke' Reynolds, a flamboyant but skilled ex-Army helo pilot and demolitions expert.
In 2005, Rodman, a long-time vegetarian,[55] became the first man to pose naked for PETA's advertisement campaign "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur".[56]
Since then he has appeared in few acting roles outside of playing himself. Rodman voiced Zack, a character resembling him, in Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. He has made an appearance in an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun playing the character of himself, except being a fellow alien with the Solomon family.[54] He also appeared in several reality soaps: in January 2006, Rodman appeared on the fourth version of Celebrity Big Brother in the UK, and on July 26, 2006, in the UK series Love Island as a houseguest contracted to stay for a week.[54] Finally, he appeared on the show Celebrity Mole on ABC. He wound up winning the $222,000 grand prize.[57] Rodman was the winner of Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling title defeating other challengers such as Butterbean and Dustin Diamond.
In 2008, Rodman joined as a spokesman for a sports website OPENSports.com, the brainchild of Mike Levy founder and former CEO of CBS Sportsline.com. Rodman also writes a blog and occasionally answers members' questions for OPEN Sports.[58]
In 2009, he appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice. Throughout the season, each celebrity raised money for a charity of their choice; Rodman selected the Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Orleans. He was the fifth contestant eliminated, on March 29, 2009.
Rodman has cited Pearl Jam as his favorite band and befriended them in the mid-1990s. During their No Code Tour, on September 26, 1996, he briefly came onstage to the excitement of the crowd and gave frontman Eddie Vedder a piggyback ride. Rodman later received a Walkman carved with Vedder's initials and containing the concert recording. He has since cited this as one of his most thrilling experiences and claimed, "If it wasn't for Pearl Jam, my life would be a hell of a lot less fulfilling." Not long after, Rodman also gave his unworn #69 Lakers jersey to Eddie Vedder,[59] and he cited Pearl Jam song lyrics in his 1996 autobiography, Bad As I Wanna Be. In I Should Be Dead By Now, Rodman said that he had found a new favorite band in Rascal Flatts.[60]
Rodman married Annie Bakes, with whom he had a daughter, Alexis, in September 1992. Bakes divorced him in December 1993. The divorce left Rodman traumatized.[22]
Rodman married model Carmen Electra in November 1998 at the Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada.[61][62] Electra filed for divorce in April 1999.[63]
In 1999 Rodman met Michelle Moyer, with whom he had a son, D.J. (born 2000) and a daughter, Trinity (born 2001). Moyer and Rodman married in 2003 on his 42nd birthday.[64] Michelle Rodman filed for divorce in 2004, although the couple spent several years attempting to reconcile. The marriage was officially dissolved in 2012 when Michelle Rodman again petitioned the court to grant a divorce. Rodman owes $860,376 in child and spousal support, and he could face 20 days in prison if he does not make payments by May 29, 2012.[65]
Rodman entered an outpatient rehab center in Florida in May 2008.[66] In May 2009, his behavior on Celebrity Apprentice led to an intervention which included Phil Jackson as well as Rodman's family and other friends. Rodman initially refused to enter rehabilitation because he wanted to attend the Celebrity Apprentice reunion show.[67][68] In 2009, Rodman agreed to appear on the third season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.[69][70] Rodman remained a patient at the Pasadena Recovery Center for the 21-day treatment cycle. A week after completion he entered a sober-living facility in the Hollywood Hills, which was filmed for the second season of Sober House. During episode seven of Sober House, Rodman was shown being reunited with his mother Shirley, from whom he had been estranged for seven years.[71] During this same visit Shirley also met Rodman's two children for the first time.[72] On January 10, 2010, on the same day that Celebrity Rehab premiered, Rodman was removed from an Orange County, California restaurant for disruptive behavior.[73] In March 2012, Rodman's financial advisor said, "in all honesty, Dennis, although a very sweet person, is an alcoholic. His sickness impacts his ability to get work."[74]
On November 5, 1999, Rodman and his then-wife, Carmen Electra, were charged with misdemeanors after police were notified of a domestic disturbance. Each posted $2,500 in bail and were released with a temporary restraining order placed on them.[75]
In December 1999 Rodman was arrested for drunken driving and driving without a valid license. In July 2000, Rodman pled guilty to both charges and was ordered to pay $2,000 in fines and was required to attend a three-month treatment program.[76]
He was arrested in 2002 for interfering with police investigating a code violation at a restaurant he owned; the charges were eventually dropped.[6]
After settling down in Newport Beach, California, the police appeared over 70 times at his home because of loud parties.[6]
In early 2003, Rodman was arrested and charged with domestic violence at his home in Newport Beach for allegedly assaulting his then-fiancee.[77]
In April 2004, Rodman pled nolo contendere to drunken driving in Las Vegas and was fined $1,000 and served 30 days of home detention.[78]
On April 30, 2008, Rodman was arrested following a domestic violence incident at a Los Angeles hotel.[79] On June 24, 2008, he pled no contest to the misdemeanor spousal battery charges and was sentenced to one year of domestic violence counseling and three years probation. He received 45 hours of community service, which were to involve some physical labor activities.[80][81]
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- ^ "Rodman, Mullin enshrined in Hall of Fame". "Fox Sports". 2011-08-12. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/basketball-hall-of-fame-enshrines-chris-mullin-dennis-rodman-arvydas-sabonis-tex-winter-081211. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
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- ^ "Shirley Rodman meets Dennis Rodman's children for first time (at minute mark 26:00)". VH1.com. 2010-04-23. http://www.vh1.com/video/sober-house-with-dr-drew/full-episodes/episode-7/1637586/playlist.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
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- Formerly the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and the Fort Wayne Pistons
- Founded in 1941
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Boldface indicates those who are also inducted as players
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| Name |
Rodman, Dennis Keith |
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Worm, The |
| Short description |
American professional basketball player |
| Date of birth |
1961-05-13 |
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Trenton, New Jersey, United States |
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