Michael Jordan, Who Likened Dennis Rodman to His Own Children, Once Expected the Flamboyant NBA Legend to Let Go of His Wild Side

In the prime of his career, Dennis Rodman was the eccentric superstar that everybody wanted but few could handle. When the timid New Jersey native joined the Detroit Pistons in 1986, no one thought he would go through such a drastic personality change. However, the change came when the Bad Boy Pistons gradually broke apart and their head coach, Chuck Daly left the franchise. After being traded to the San Antonio Spurs, the Worm’s rebellious nature began showing itself, and thus began Rodman’s ‘wild’ era.

The San Antonio Spurs struggled to keep up with Dennis Rodman’s whimsical antics and eventually traded him off to the Chicago Bulls. Rodman seemingly found a home with the Bulls, who accepted his wild side. However, even the most patient person eventually runs out of patience. Similarly, Michael Jordan once posed a very simple demand to Rodman, to let go of his wild side.

Michael Jordan wanted Dennis Rodman to think of the team

Dennis Rodman might be unpredictable and erratic but he was also one of the best rebounders in the league’s history. Therefore, Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls teammates were accepting of Rodman’s eccentric behaviors. However, His Airness still wished that the Worm would tone down his intermittent outbursts on the court and tackle certain situations more calmly. During an interview with Ahmad Rashad in the 90s, MJ acknowledged that winning another championship would be extremely hard without Rodman.

However, he was willing to defend their championship title without Rodman if the situation called for it. MJ referred to Rodman’s actions as that of his kids when he reflected on his controversial behaviors.

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Jordan said, “It’s like explaining what my kids are doing. As a team leader, I like to support him all the time. But I think if he can control those situations. Such as, after the whistle is blown, you know, to not die down or to give a flagrant foul or knock the ball out of the hand or kick a cameraman.”

The six-time NBA champion also added that Rodman needed to think about his teammates and be there for them, the way his teammates were always there for him.

“He can control that and he has to think about the team in that situation, where in a position he’s putting the team in because we’re there to support him as a team. No matter how you look at it, we’re gonna do what we can to try to give him the room to excel… be the exceptional rebounder that he is…But he has to be there for us too,” MJ told Rashad.

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While managing Rodman wass no child’s play, it is probably safe to say that other than the Pistons, it was the Bulls who had truly accepted Dennis the Menace and truly unleashed his hidden potential.