After the first three-peat, the Chicago Bulls established themselves as a dynasty. The dynamic between Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had worked its magic. However, to go from three to six, the Bulls needed different energy. Likewise, they found it in the bad boy of the NBA, Dennis Rodman.
With a burst of energy, The Worm brought his defensive masterclass and high-quality rebounding to the Bulls. Apart from his experts, his off-court lifestyle had a fan base of its own. A party animal, crazy stories about the two-time Defensive Player of The Year have come to the surface. However, as the night ended, a different Rodman would take over. Arriving to practice, the Hall of Famer was ready to put it all on the line.
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As the uncalled vacations and parties increased, Phil Jackson had to bring Rodman in check. Likewise, he devised a drill to check The Worm’s fitness. However, it backfired as Michael Jordan and the Bulls were only left chasing after their rebounding specialist.
Dennis Rodman pushes Michael Jordan to the limit
Michael Jordan is probably one of the hardest-working players in history. However, on a day the Zen Master wanted to test Rodman, His Airness wanted to take it easy. But this is when the bad boy qualities of Rodman kicked in. Dragging the entire Bulls for four laps of the court, he completely ignored the instructions Jordan passed on.
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Speaking about the story during the Last Dance, MJ said, “Everybody starts running in a one, and Phil blows a whistle. Whoever’s at the back runs to the front. Now you can’t stop. Whoever’s in front controls the pace So I look at everybody in that group and say ‘Look, whoever gets in the front of that line row slow down to a f**king walk. We’re just going to jog and jog and jog’. Dennis took off boom. Now he blows the whistle. We cannot stop until we get back in front of Dennis. It took us four laps to catch up to Dennis.”
Rodman’s controversial off-court life often landed him in trouble. However, outside the uncalled vacations was a competitive juggernaut. Dennis Rodman’s all-out mentality, created a dynamic between himself, Jordan, and Pippen. The lethal trio would go on to win three straight championships and take their place in history. In his first season with the Bulls, Rodman had put Michael Jordan back to the top of the NBA.
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A five-time NBA champion, The Worm was truly a unique player. Do you think the Chicago Bulls could win without Rodman? Let us know your views in the comments below.