阅读丹尼斯·罗德曼 Dennis Rodman在百家争鸣的作品!!! | |||
丹尼斯·罗德曼罗德曼在1986年加入NBA，被底特律活塞队选中，1993年被交換到圣安东尼奥马刺队。但他的职业生涯高峰期是加入芝加哥公牛队以后，和队友麥可·喬丹及斯科蒂·皮蓬，为公牛王朝在1996年至1998年创造出NBA总冠军的三连冠。
NBA之前的业余篮球生涯
罗德曼生长在德克萨斯州的达拉斯，只是因为高中期间有一年身高长了27公分而有了向篮球运动发展的想法。由于受限于德克萨斯甘尼斯维尔的库克郡学院篮球小环境，罗德曼加入了美国校际运动联盟（NAIA）成员的东南俄克拉荷马州立大学，在大学篮球队中他是一位出色的射手和篮板好手，但也形成了他日后的古怪行为。
底特律活塞时期
底特律活塞经过对罗德曼充分的观察在1986年NBA选秀大会上第二轮摘下了他。这一时期的活塞队很有发展空间，球队领袖主力控球后卫“微笑刺客”伊塞亚·托马斯，明星级得分后卫乔·杜马斯，小前锋艾德里安·达特利，中锋比尔·兰比尔，还有一些对球队非常有帮助的蓝领球员“微波”威尼·约翰逊，约翰·塞利和里克·马洪，而罗德曼的到来可以将球队坚强的防守得到进一步的补充。但是活塞在1987年的季候赛中被难以战胜的波士顿凯尔特人队所淘汰，尽管如此但罗德曼在比赛中对凯尔特人头号球星拉里·伯德的防守还是有着不错的表现。
1988年罗德曼似乎展现出其明星潜质，防守比以往更出色，多次冲出球场广告牌。1989年他的成绩得到了认可被当选为年度最佳防守球员，这是他连续两年夺得此奖的第一次。他在这一赛季所抓得篮板在兰比尔之后列全队第二，罗德曼帮助活塞队连续第二年淘汰了年轻的芝加哥公牛并最终夺得了球队历史上第一座的NBA总冠军。在之后的一年情况如出一辙，活塞在东部决赛中再次击败公牛并蝉联了联盟总冠军，罗德曼也连续第二年夺得了年度最佳防守球員的荣誉。
1991年罗德曼得到领衔全队的场均12.5个篮板。1992年罗德曼取得了不可思议的进步，得到了场均18个篮板并且赢得了他获得的连续七个篮板王头衔的第一个。1992年3月的一场比赛中他抓下了职业生涯最高的34个篮板球。1993年罗德曼再次在篮板球数上领衔全联盟，这同时也是他为活塞效力的最后一个赛季。
圣安东尼奥马刺时期
在圣安东尼奥马刺，罗德曼持续了他篮板球方面的专长使得球队中锋大卫·罗宾逊用更多的精力放在进攻上，协助罗宾逊取得了1993–94赛季全联盟得分第一的头衔。在之后的一个赛季，罗德曼帮助马刺取得了队史最佳战绩62胜20负，并且进入了西部决赛，但是惜败给奥拉朱旺领衔的休斯敦火箭队，罗德曼与时任马刺总经理波波维奇的矛盾也浮上了台面。不论如何罗德曼漂泊不定的场外生活逐渐成为焦点，其中包括了和著名歌手麦当娜的一段短暂但社会关注度极高的伴侣关系；还有一些场上古怪的造型，在马刺队时有着太多次的表现，比如头发染色的古怪发型。
公牛王朝时代
随着1994-95赛季的到来，罗德曼被交易到了芝加哥公牛以填补球队大前锋霍瑞斯·格兰特离开所造成的位置大空缺，馬刺队换取中锋威尔·普度（Will Perdue）和其他的优惠。1995-96赛季罗德曼和第一次复出的乔丹联手将公牛的胜绩从前一年的47胜35负到72胜10负，提高了整整25场比赛的胜利。在之后的季候赛中公牛轻松击败其他竞争对手夺取了NBA的总冠军。球队中的罗德曼，乔丹和皮蓬都荣登那一年的全明星最佳防守第一阵容，这也是NBA历史上第一次有三位同队球员入选同一年的最佳防守第一阵容，罗德曼连续第五年抓得全联盟最高的篮板数，队友乔丹的得分则是全联盟最高的，这也是NBA历史上第二次同一个队的两位球员夺得全联盟的最高得分和篮板球。他们在之后的1997和1998年又两次蝉联了总冠军在10年内2次取得3连冠的伟业。
罗德曼以球场出格的行为所被大家熟知，著名的有1996年4月16日在一场比赛中因不服裁判Ted Bernhardt的判决而发生争执，之后他头槌Bernhardt，事发后惹起了不小风波，罗德曼被联盟罚款25,000美金和禁赛五场。另一个丑闻发生在1997年1月15日与明尼苏达森林狼队的比赛中。当时罗德曼在一次拼抢篮板过程中脚下拌蒜撞到了场外的摄影师Eugene Amos，摔倒后心存不满的罗德曼往摄影师的腹股沟踢了一脚。尽管罗德曼马上被处以技术犯规一次，最后罗德曼被处以补偿摄影师Eugene Amos损失费200,000美金以及联盟的11场禁赛，这是当时联盟最长的禁赛纪录。
罗德曼在1997-98赛季后离开公牛队，公牛也因乔丹的第二次退役和斯科蒂·皮蓬的离去而进入了重建阶段。与此同时罗德曼也结束了他最后一个重要的NBA赛季，之后的他只是短暂有限的出现在其他的NBA球队中。罗德曼是NBA90年代最出色的抓篮板者连续7年取得篮板王头衔，他在防守方面足以应付从迈克尔·乔丹、斯科蒂·皮蓬、魔术师约翰逊和拉里·伯德到沙奎尔·奥尼尔、阿伦佐·莫宁、肖恩·坎普、卡尔·马龙、查尔斯·巴克利这样的球员。在1996年东部总决赛中罗德曼有着令人印象深刻的表现，当时公牛队对阵奥兰多魔术队，罗德曼临时性的充当前几个赛季霍瑞斯·格兰特的角色，以203公分的身高107公斤的体重去对抗对方216公分和150公斤的“大鲨鱼”奥尼尔，成为最终公牛横扫对手夺取东部总冠军的一颗重要棋子。
后公牛时期
罗德曼离开公牛后当了一段时间的记者，后阶段曾短暂的效力过洛杉矶湖人队和达拉斯小牛队，2000年最后一次出现在NBA球队中，因多次无故缺席训练后被勒令离队，此前他仍有场均14个篮板的优异表现。
职业生涯奖项及成绩
5次夺得NBA总冠军(1989, 1990, 1996–98)
2次入选NBA第三阵容 (1992, 1995)
2次入选NBA全明星赛 (1990, 1992)
7次入选NBA全明星防守阵容 (1989–93, 1995, 1996)
1次入选NBA全明星防守第二阵容 (1994)
2次当选NBA最佳防守球员 (1990, 1991)
7次荣登NBA赛季场均全联盟篮板数第一（1992–98，蝉联７次）
4次荣登NBA赛季总篮板数第一 (1992–94, 1998)
6次荣登NBA进攻篮板总数第一 (1991–94, 1996, 1997)
3次荣登NBA防守篮板总数第一 (1992, 1994, 1998)
1次荣登全联盟投篮命中率最高 (1989)
NBA退役之后
从NBA出来的罗德曼凭他的兴趣在一些篮球小联盟发挥发挥余热，2003年他加盟了美国ABA小联盟的提华纳龙队（Tijuana Dragones）；之还加盟过英国篮球联赛的布莱顿熊队（Brighton Bears）也就打了2场比赛；2005年他加盟了芬兰篮球联赛的Torpan Pojat队 他首场比赛出场28分钟，得到17分6个篮板 一共13次为球队出场，只要罗德曼出场，球场是每场爆满； 2006年1月26日，罗德曼与布莱顿熊队又签订了一年合同，在NBA退役之后发挥一下余热。
其他事业
他的身上画有众多纹身和穿孔和经常将自己的头发染成鲜艳的人工色。
罗德曼和卡门·伊莱克特拉有着一段短暂的婚姻，著名的身穿婚纱在公共场合出现来宣传他的个人自传Bad as I Wanna Be, ISBN 0-440-22266-4。罗德曼赢得过ABC电视台真实电视节目Celebrity Mole尤卡坦半岛集的获胜者并且赢得22万美金的奖励，令人惊奇的是在秀期间他几乎是脱稿不做什么备案的，有时会写一些简单的内容在一些餐巾纸上。
他也同麦当娜有过亲密的关系，在他的第一本自传中宣称麦当娜曾经主动和他尝试“造人”计划。
职业摔跤
罗德曼参加了多场的WCW摔跤比赛，他和他的好朋友著名摔跤明星哈克·霍根组成了NWO团体。
他的第一场比赛是在1997年的7日的Bash At the Beach赛事，罗德曼和他的搭档霍根输给了Lex Luger和Paul Wight。他跨运动的出现在公牛队和摔跤场上，惹怒了篮球迷和公牛队主教练菲尔·杰克逊，结果他的这一行为得到了NBA联盟的处分。
1998年罗德曼和霍根联手打败了卡尔·马龙和摔跤明星达拉斯·佩奇组合，他在Total Nonstop Action Wrestling中最后一次出现在摔跤场上，由于在比赛中罗德曼基本上起不到什么作用从而引起了大批观众的讥笑。在他摔跤期间他在摔跤台上只展示了其微不足道的摔跤技术。
演员生涯
1997年罗德曼拍摄了他的首部动作长片反击王（或译双重反击，Double Team），这部电影中他和尚·克劳德·范·戴姆搭档。这部电影恶评不断，也给罗德曼争取到了3项金酸莓奖：最差新星，最糟糕配角，最糟糕银幕组合（与戴姆分享）。罗德曼同样在电影魔鬼骑士（或译格斗反击王／超强火力，Simon Sez）中出现，之后罗德曼还相继出演过Zack，死或生：沙滩排球2 和电视剧外星人报到。
罗德曼世界巡演
在1996年，丹尼斯·罗德曼拥有自己的MTV现实脱口秀节目叫做罗德曼世界巡演（The Rodman World Tour），节目是一个有罗德曼特色的一系列古怪的境遇，比如罗德曼在他的床上采访嘉宾。
名人琐事
丹尼斯·罗德曼曾与麦当娜有过一段短暂的情侣关系
曾经和犹他爵士的NBA球星卡尔·马龙參加过WCW摔角比賽
与尚·克劳德·范·戴姆合作演出过电影，其非科班出生的差劲演技受到媒体的嘲笑，也为他取得了3项金酸莓奖。
Experiencing an unhappy childhood, Rodman was shy and introverted in his early years. After aborting a suicide attempt in 1993, he reinvented himself as the prototypical "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 part-time professional wrestler. 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.
Early life and education
Dennis Rodman was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Shirley and Philander Rodman Jr., an Air Force pilot and veteran of the Vietnam War. When he was three, his father deserted his family and went on to eventually father 27 children with four different women. Shirley subsequently took many odd jobs—at times, four at the same time—to support her family. In his 1997 biography Bad As I Wanna Be, he expresses his disgust 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." The impoverished Rodman and his two sisters, Debra and Kim, grew up in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas, considered one of the worst areas of Dallas in those times, 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 him in basketball, and made him a laughingstock whenever he tagged along with them. He felt generally "overwhelmed" by the all-female household. Debra and Kim would go on to become All-Americans at Louisiana Tech and Stephen F. Austin respectively.
When Rodman experienced his growth spurt, he became even more withdrawn because he felt odd in his own body. Rodman was so insecure around women that he thought he was homosexual in his teens, was still a virgin when he was 20 years old, and eventually had his first sexual experience with a prostitute; he described this as an unpleasant experience.
While attending South Oak Cliff High School, Rodman played under future Texas A&M coach Gary Blair. 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, he also failed to make the football teams and was "totally devastated". 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.
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 performances. 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 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons. 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. He averaged over 25 points per game for his three-year NAIA career. 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.
During this time, Rodman worked at a summer youth basketball camp, where he befriended camper Byrne Rich, who was shy and withdrawn, following from 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. 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." Rodman credits the Riches as his "surrogate family" that helped him through college.
Basketball career
Detroit Piston
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Rodman made himself eligible for the 1986 NBA Draft. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons as the 27th pick in the second round, 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. 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. 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 their archrivals Boston Celtics in what was called one of the physically and mentally toughest series ever. Rodman feuded with Celtics guard Dennis Johnson, taunting him in the closing seconds by waving his right hand over his head. When the Celtics took Game Seven, Johnson went back at Rodman in the last moments of the game and mimicked his taunting gesture. 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.
In the following 1987–88 season, Rodman steadily improved his stats, averaging 11.6 points and 8.7 rebounds and starting in 32 of 82 regular season games. 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. In that year, his girlfriend Annie bore him a daughter named Alexis.
After just falling short of an NBA title, Rodman entered the 1988–89 season. Still coming off the bench, he averaged nine points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes, providing such effective defense that he was voted into the All-Defensive Team, the first of eight times. In that season, the Pistons finally vanquished their playoffs bane by sweeping the Boston Celtics, winning in six games versus the Chicago Bulls of scoring champion Michael Jordan and easily defeating the Lakers with 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.
In the 1989–90 season, Detroit lost perennial defensive forward Rick Mahorn due to the expansion draft of the Minnesota Timberwolves. 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. He went on to win his first big individual accolade. Averaging nine points and 10 rebounds and 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". 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. 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.
After winning his second NBA championship ring, Rodman entered the 1990–91 season. In that year, he 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". 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. In the 1991 NBA Playoffs however, the Pistons were swept by the championship-winning Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the 1991–92 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 made his first All-NBA Team. His 1,530 rebounds (the most since Wilt Chamberlain's 1,572 in the 1971–72 season) have never been surpassed since then; the best mark not set by Rodman is credited to Kevin Willis, who grabbed 1,258 boards in 1992–93. In a March 1992 game, he totaled a career high 34 total rebounds. 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 resigned in May, whom he had admired as a surrogate father; Rodman skipped the preseason camp and was fined $68,000. The following 1992–93 season was even more tumultuous. He finally married Annie Bakes in September 1992, the mother of his four year old daughter Alexis, but the marriage went sour quickly and Bakes divorced him in December, an experience which left him traumatized. 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." 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.
San Antonio Spur
In the 1993–94 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. 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. 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 stints with red, purple, blue hair and a look inspired from the film Demolition Man. 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. 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. 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 1994–95 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. 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. 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, 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.'"
Chicago Bull
The United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls. Rodman wrote history in the 1996 NBA Finals when he twice secured 11 offensive rebounds in this building, tying an all-time NBA record.
Prior to the 1995–96 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 1994–95 season. Although the trade for the already 34 year old and volatile Rodman was considered a gamble at that time, the power forward quickly adapted to his new environment, helped by the fact that his best friend Haley was also traded to the Bulls. Under coach Phil Jackson, he scored an average of 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. 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." 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. 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 fined $20,000, a punishment that was criticized as too lenient by the local press. 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 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." His two games with 11 offensive rebounds each tied the NBA Finals record of Elvin Hayes.
In the 1996–97 NBA season, Rodman won his sixth rebounding title en bloc with 16.7 boards per game, along with 5.7 points per game, but failed to rank another All-Defensive Team call-up. However, he made more headlines for his notorious behaviour: 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. Missing another three games to suspensions, often getting technical fouls early in games 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.
It was during this time that Rodman seriously took up his hobby of professional wrestling: he appeared in World Championship Wrestling as a member of nWo with his friend Hulk Hogan. 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.
The regular season of the 1997–98 NBA season ended with Rodman winning his seventh consecutive rebounding title with 15.0 boards per game, along with 4.7 points per game. 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. 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, 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. 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 en bloc and Rodman his fifth ring.
In the off-season, Rodman and Malone squared off again, this time in WCW 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.
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. 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". In November 1998, he married Carmen Electra in a state of intoxication, and the marriage was invalidated after just 10 days.
Twilight year
After the 1997–98 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. Rodman remained with the Bulls for several months during the 1998–99 season, but did not play in any games with the team during and was finally released by the team on January 21, 1999. 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 1998–99 season. With the Lakers he only played in 23 games and was released. 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.
NBA career statistic
† NBA Championship
Led the league
Bold Denotes career high
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 REB Total rebounds per game
AST Assists per game STL Steals per game BLK Blocks per game
TOV Turnovers per game PF Fouls per game PTS Points per game
Average
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1986–87 Detroit Pistons 77 1 15.0 .545 .000 .587 4.3 .7 .5 .6 6.5
1987–88 Detroit Pistons 82 32 26.2 .561 .294 .535 8.7 1.3 .9 .5 11.6
1988–89† Detroit Pistons 82 8 26.9 .595 .231 .626 9.4 1.2 .7 .9 9.0
1989–90† Detroit Pistons 82 43 29.0 .581 .111 .654 9.7 .9 .6 .7 8.8
1990–91 Detroit Pistons 82 77 33.5 .493 .200 .631 12.5 1.0 .8 .7 8.2
1991–92 Detroit Pistons 82 80 40.3 .539 .317 .600 18.7 2.3 .8 .9 9.8
1992–93 Detroit Pistons 62 55 38.9 .427 .205 .534 18.3 1.6 .8 .7 7.5
1993–94 San Antonio Spurs 79 51 37.8 .534 .208 .520 17.3 2.3 .7 .4 4.7
1994–95 San Antonio Spurs 49 26 32.0 .571 .000 .676 16.8 2.0 .6 .5 7.1
1995–96† Chicago Bulls 64 57 32.6 .480 .111 .528 14.9 2.5 .6 .4 5.5
1996–97† Chicago Bulls 55 54 35.4 .448 .263 .568 16.1 3.1 .6 .3 5.7
1997–98† Chicago Bulls 80 66 35.7 .431 .174 .550 15.0 2.9 .6 .2 4.7
1998–99 Los Angeles Lakers 23 11 28.6 .348 .000 .436 11.2 1.3 .4 .5 2.1
1999–2000 Dallas Mavericks 12 12 32.4 .387 .000 .714 14.3 1.2 .2 .1 2.8
Career 911 573 31.7 .521 .231 .584 13.1 1.8 .7 .6 7.3
Playoffs 169 89 28.3 .490 .149 .540 9.9 1.2 .6 .6 6.4
All-Star 1990, 1992 2 0 18.0 .364 — — 8.5 .5 .5 .5 4.0
Post-NBA year
In 2005, Rodman played for Torpan Pojat of Finland's basketball league, the Korisliiga.
After his NBA career, Rodman took a long break from basketball and concentrated on his film career and on wrestling. In 1999, he fought "Macho Man" Randy Savage at Road Wild 1999 in which Savage shoved him in a portable toilet and eventually won the match. On July 30, 2000 for the i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling pay-per-view event, he fought against i-Generation Champion Curt Hennig. The event was subtitled Rodman Downunder. Rodman refrained from wrestling at the top level, but instead became Commissioner of the Lingerie Football League in 2005.
After a longer hiatus, Rodman returned to play basketball for the Long Beach Jam of the newly-formed American Basketball Association during the 2003–04 season, with hopes of being called up to the NBA midseason. In the following 2004–05 season, he signed with the ABA's Orange County Crush and the following season with the league's Tijuana Dragons. 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, and went on to play three games for the Bears. 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. 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.
In 2005, Rodman made two visits in 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. In November, he played one match for Torpan Pojat of the Finland's basketball league, Korisliiga.
That same year, Rodman published his second autobiography I Should Be Dead By Now and promoted this by sitting in a coffin.
Awards, records and achievement
Main article: List of career achievements by Dennis Rodman
Legacy
^ Active NBA player
* Enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame
Top career rebounding averages since 1973
Player Height Minutes per
game Offensive
rebounds Defensive
rebounds Total
rebounds Game
played Rebounds per
game
Dennis Rodman 6'6" 31.7 4,329 7,625 11,954 911 13.1
Dwight Howard^ 6'11" 35.7 1,817 4,629 6,446 510 12.6
Moses Malone* 6'10" 33.9 6,731 9,481 16,212 1,329 12.2
Charles Barkley* 6'6" 36.7 4,260 8,286 12,546 1,073 11.7
Tim Duncan^ 6'11" 36.2 3,070 8,463 11,533 999 11.5
Top rebounding seasons since 1973
Season Player Team Rebound
per game
1991–92 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons 18.7
1992–93 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons 18.3
1973–74 Elvin Hayes* Capital Bullets 18.1
1978–79 Moses Malone* Houston Rockets 17.6
1993–94 Dennis Rodman San Antonio Spurs 17.3
1975–76 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* Los Angeles Lakers 16.9
1994–95 Dennis Rodman San Antonio Spurs 16.8
1996–97 Dennis Rodman Chicago Bulls 16.1
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 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 boards per game in six of the next seven years. 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 personal best 34-rebound game on March 4, 1992 is the third best board-grabbing performance since the 1972–73 season, topped only by a 35-rebound game by Charles Oakley on April 22, 1988 and a 37-rebound game by Moses Malone on February 9, 1979.
On offense, Rodman's output was mediocre. He averaged 11.6 points a game in his sophomore season, but his point 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. 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 a 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 nine of these 12 attempts.
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. 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". 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, 1996–8; only loss 1988), being crowned NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice (1990, 1991) and making seven NBA All-Defensive First Teams (1989–93, 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 rebounding crowns (1992–98) and finally led the league once in field goal percentage (1989). 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 versus officials, frequent ejections, and his tumultuous private life. He was ranked #48 on the 2009 revision of SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-time.
Media appearance
Dennis Rodman, 2001
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. 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). Rodman starred in Simon Sez, a 1999 action/comedy and co-starred with Tom Berenger in a 2000 action film about skydiving titled Cutaway. 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, became the first man to pose naked for PETA's advertisement campaign "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur".
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. 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. Finally, he appeared on the show Celebrity Mole on ABC. He wound up winning the $222,000 grand prize. 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.
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.
Personal life
In 1999 Rodman met Michelle Moyer, who became his new girlfriend. Moyer bore him two children: a son, D.J. (born 2000), and a daughter, Trinity (born 2001). Moyer and Rodman married in 2003 on his 42nd birthday. After settling down in Newport Beach, California, the police appeared over 70 times at his home because of loud parties.
In July 2000, Rodman pled guilty to drunken driving and driving without a valid license after an arrest in December 1999. He paid $2,000 in fines and was required to attend a three-month treatment program. 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.
On April 30, 2008, Rodman was arrested following a domestic violence incident at a Los Angeles hotel. On June 24, 2008, he pleaded 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.
Rodman entered drug rehabilitation in May 2008. In May 2009, his misbehavior 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. Rodman agreed to appear on the third season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Commenting on Rodman's detachment from the rehabilitation process, Dr. Drew Pinsky, who treated him, commented that Rodman was "hyper-focused in some ways, and in others, completely blank," and observed that Rodman did not comprehend what the other patients were experiencing, or how they perceived him. Pinsky concluded that Rodman may have Asperger's syndrome, a diagnosis with which a colleague from UCLA Medical Center concurred. The show premiered on January 10, 2010, and on that same day, Rodman was removed from an Orange County, California restaurant for disruptive behavior.
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, 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.
Book
Rodman, Dennis (1994). Rebound: The Dennis Rodman Story. ISBN 0-517-59294-0.
Rodman, Dennis (1996). Bad as I Wanna Be. ISBN 0-440-22266-4.
Rodman, Dennis (1997). Walk on the Wild Side. ISBN 0385318979.
Rodman, Dennis (2005). I Should Be Dead by Now. ISBN 1596700165.