“I Never Talked to Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen”: Dennis Rodman on His Relation with Chicago Bulls

Had it not been for Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls wouldn’t have been the NBA favorites in the 90s. But the third element to the team, Dennis Rodman made them unbeatable. MJ-Scottie undoubtedly displayed sensational offensive skills. Moreover, Rodman completed the team with his defensive and rebounding saga. The tattooed man was fiery in his playing days but when questioned about the Bulls Dynasty, Dennis seemed deterred.

When ‘The Worm’ made his way to the Bulls

Alongside the arrival of Michael Jordan in the world of basketball once again, Rodman opened his avenues with the Bulls. Rodman wore the Bulls jersey for the very first time in 1995. Traded by the Spurs, Rodman averaged 14.9 rebounds per game that season under Phil Jackson’s guidance. He led the rebounding charts with a significant margin.

Popularly known as ‘The Worm’, Dennis became a member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice in the years with Bulls. While MJ and Scottie swept the attention, he was the silent achiever of the team. With Rodman joining the Bulls, the team became stronger than ever. The on-court chemistry of the three, star players, took the show in the 90s. What many didn’t know about was what messed up off-court!

Dennis Rodman – “The final piece to the puzzle”

Rodman was recently invited on ESPN ‘First Take’ for discussing the aspects of MJ’s recent docu-series, ‘The Last Dance’. About joining the Bulls amongst the likes of Jordan and Pippen, Rodman told on the show, “To me, I call Chuck Daly God, I call Phil Jackson Moses. And those guys really took me in and said, ‘Dennis you know what, we understand what you’re going through, we understand your game.’,” Dennis added, “Then Michael said, ‘Hey that was the final piece to the puzzle’.”

The 2011 Hall of Fame inductee had faced issues with his teammates, MJ and Scottie. Dennis refreshed his experience with the Bulls dynasty and mentioned, “I never talked to Mike and Scottie.” He continued, “I didn’t live in Michael’s and Scottie’s shadow, I was there to do rebound…To win championships. I did my thing off the court.”

Dennis very blatantly put forth his idea of the trio and their unhealthy equation off the court, “When we go out to a restaurant, we would actually create a triangle. We were not even talking to each other in a restaurant. The only time we communicate is in a game.”

It’s heartbreaking to know that in the history of amazing duos and trios on-court, we are yet to see numerous Shaq-Kobe and MJ-Rodman off-court!

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