interbasket.net  InterBasket > profiles > Rodman
  InterBasket > Player Profiles > Dennis Rodman, Usa > talk From NBA.com: Rodman is one of the few players in basketball who can change the course of a game without taking a shot. Rodman, whose two sisters were All-American basketball players, didn't play high school basketball and stood only 5-11 when he graduated.

At age 20 he was working the graveyard shift at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport when he decided, after having grown eight inches since high school, that he would pursue basketball. He enrolled in Cooke County Junior College in Texas and later transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State. In three seasons there, 1983-84 through 1985-86, he averaged 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds, led the NAIA in rebounding twice and registered a .637 field goal percentage.

Still relatively obscure, Rodman lasted into the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft before being selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 27th overall pick. After an unremarkable rookie season, Rodman began making his presence felt. On the 1987-88 Pistons he averaged a career-best 11.6 points along with 8.7 rebounds. The team lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Detroit won the NBA Championship the next two seasons, and Rodman was a prime reason for the club's success. The sixth man in 1988-89 on a team known for its physical play, he led the NBA in field goal percentage at .595, averaged 9.4 rebounds, and was runner-up for both the Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Sixth Man Award. In the Pistons' second title year he earned NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors, made the All-Star Team, and averaged 9.7 rebounds. With Rodman as a starter for the final 43 games of the season, Detroit went 39-4. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year for a second consecutive season in 1990-91, Rodman finished second in the NBA in rebounding at 12.5 boards per game. Up to that point Rodman had established himself as an excellent rebounder, but in 1991-92 he broke the mold and became a legend. Playing more than 40 minutes per game, Rodman averaged 18.7 rebounds, the highest mark since Wilt Chamberlain had averaged 19.2 boards 20 years earlier. Rodman won the rebounding crown again in 1992-93 with 18.3 caroms per game, becoming the first forward ever to win back-to-back rebounding titles.

Prior to the 1993-94 season the Pistons traded Rodman to the San Antonio Spurs for Sean Elliott. Rodman continued his board work in San Antonio, leading the league in rebounding for two more seasons. Despite continued discipline problems, he tranformed the Spurs from a good team into a title contender; San Antonio posted the NBA's best record and advanced to the Conference Finals in 1994-95.

The Bulls gambled by acquiring the controversial Rodman prior to the 1995-96 season, and the gamble paid off handsomely. He led the league in rebounding for the next three years, and while he was more flamboyant than ever, it didn't seem to hurt Chicago's chemistry as the Bulls charged to 72, 69 and 62 victories and three championships. He appeared in 23 games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998-99 and 12 games with the Dallas Mavericks in 1999-2000, but was waived by both clubs despite averaging in double figures in rebounds for both teams.

Wikipedia.org: Rodman wrestled a few matches for World Championship Wrestling and was a member of the nWo with Hollywood Hogan. His first match was at Bash At the Beach '97 on July 13, 1997. He teamed with Hogan and lost to Lex Luger and The Giant. At Bash At the Beach '98 on July 12, 1998, Rodman & Hogan defeated Karl Malone & Diamond Dallas Page. His 3rd and last match was on August 14, 1999 at Road Wild when he lost to Randy Savage. He raised the ire of wrestling management as he frequently "no showed" several dates in which he was intended to promote the PPV bouts. Also, in his second bout, he appeared to be inebriated."
Dennis Rodman Profile

Name: Dennis Keith Rodman
Postion: Forward
Nickname: The Worm (John Salley, NBA) Dennis the Menace
Born: 05/13/1961
Status: Retired from the NBA
Origin: Trenton, New Jersey, Usa
Height: 6-7/2,02m
Weight: 215lbs/96,0kg
Schools: E Oklahoma State, Cooke County Junior College, South Oak Cliff (DNP), in Dallas, TX
Drafted: 1986, Second Round, 27th overall by the Detroit Pistons
Languages: English
Website: InterBasket
Teams (Jersey): Detroit Pistons (10), Chicago Bulls (91), Los Angeles Lakers (73), San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks (70), Tijuana Dragons (ABA), Brighton Bears (British Basketball League)
IBN Facts: From shy rookie to energetic sixth man, from physical defender to prolific rebounder, from NBA all-star to NBA champion, from cross dresser to professional wrestler, Dennis Rodman had (has) quite a colorful career. I watched as Rodman went from a shy and sensitive role-player playing alongside Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, one who cried when he won the NBA defensive player of the year, to a player (along with Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn) would help the late-80's-early-90's Detroit Pistons earn their Bad Boys label.  And from there, Rodman only got more eccentric; Rodman became a tattooed, pierced, fist-pumping, high-energy, attention seeking, cross-dressing, pro-wrestling, key-player on NBA championship squad after NBA championship squad.

Rodman, along with Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, Rick Mahorn, Vinnie Johnson, James Edwards, and Mark Aguirre (Adrian Dantley) formed the core group of the Bad Boys; the Detroit Piston team that won the NBA Championship in 1989 and 1990, and winning the Central Division crown and Eastern Conference Titles in 1988, 1989, and 1990.

IBN Facts: For 10 straight years Rodman averaged 11+ rebounds a game with averages of 12.5, 18.7, 18.3, 17.3, 16.8, 14.9, 16.1, 15, 11.2, and 14.3. During that stretch, he led the league in rebounds per game for a record seventh straight seasons!  Dennis was a key player on the Chicago Bulls team that won a record 72 games during the 1995-96 NBA regular season.  That team featured Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Toni Kukoc.  That same season saw Jordan, Pippen and Rodman on the NBA All-Defensive Team.

Dennis Rodman Quotes: "I go out with white women. This makes a lot of people unhappy, mostly black women."

"I knew I would have been just another nigger if I didn't play basketball."

"John Stockton is the biggest cheap-shot artist in the league."

"The people at the top of the league think they need to rein me in so I don't become another Michael Jordan, somebody they aren't able to mold and shape and make their puppet."

"To hang out in a gay bar or put on a sequined halter top makes me feel like a total person."

"Black culture is something I don't relate to much at all."
From our forum:  Dennis Rodman to Play in the British Basketball League, NBA Discussion Forum  Articles and other resources: Dennis Rodman Profile (Wikipedia.org)  Dennis Rodman Video Highlight (YouTube), Dennis Rodman Quotes (BrainyQuote.com)  Dennis Rodman Mugshot (The Smoking Gun), Dennis Rodman's Best Plays (YouTube)