Dennis Rodman exposes Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich’s authoritative nature: “Mr. Military was going to make me a good little boy, a good soldier”

[TheGreatYacht]

Dennis Rodman: “The biggest problem in San Antonio was Gregg Popovich, the general manager. He wanted to be the coach and the general manager. He stood around and held Bob Hill’s (then the coach of the Spurs) hand every day, saying, “Okay, you’ve got to do this now. It’s time for you to listen to me.” If Hill didn’t do it, Popovich would jump his a**, and so Hill would turn around and jump somebody else’s a**. Sh*t flows downhill, and it seemed like I was always at the bottom.

Other than the playoffs I didn’t have much of a problem with Bob Hill. He was being used as much as I was. Popovich wanted to be the guy who tamed Dennis Rodman, and he tried to use Hill to do his dirty work. That was Popovich’s big challenge. Mr. Military was going to make me a good little boy, a good soldier. He lost sight of everything else, and then when he decided he couldn’t do anything with me, he badmouthed me and gave me away for next to nothing. Then he pretended it was good for the team”.

:pop:: "Dennis, get over yourself."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thesportsrush.com/nba-news-mr-military-was-going-to-make-me-a-good-little-boy-a-good-soldier-dennis-rodman-exposes-spurs-head-coach-gregg-popovichs-authoritative-nature/%3famp

[KobesAchilles]

When Chuck Daly, Greg Pop, and Phil Jackson all get tired of your ass then maybe Rodman was the issue?

[GAustex]

Would not surprise me at all.

[SpurSpike]

"That's when Greg Popovich was the GM. He didn't like me at all. I wasn't the church-going guy, and David Robinson called me the devil. I said, okay, man, whatever. I said you didn't pay me to be f***ing nice. You paid me to win f***ing. I love David. He's a good guy, but Popovich wanted me to get out of there so bad, and he traded me to Chicago for Will Perdue straight up."
Dennis Rodman, via Cold As Balls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrPlR8BtMM&feature=emb_title)

[lmbebo]

Who cares

[daslicer]

This is old news. Nice try with your trolling OP but this is fail and I say this as someone who isn't a Popovich supporter.

[baseline bum]

"That's when Greg Popovich was the GM. He didn't like me at all. I wasn't the church-going guy, and David Robinson called me the devil. I said, okay, man, whatever. I said you didn't pay me to be f***ing nice. You paid me to win f***ing. I love David. He's a good guy, but Popovich wanted me to get out of there so bad, and he traded me to Chicago for Will Perdue straight up."
Dennis Rodman, via Cold As Balls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrPlR8BtMM&feature=emb_title)

LMAO revisionist history about Rodman wanting to win. He wanted to win so badly he started jacking up retarded three pointers in the first quarter of a must win Game 2 of the WCF to force Hill to bench him.

[Slippy]

"That's when Greg Popovich was the GM. He didn't like me at all. I wasn't the church-going guy, and David Robinson called me the devil. I said, okay, man, whatever. I said you didn't pay me to be f***ing nice. You paid me to win f***ing. I love David. He's a good guy, but Popovich wanted me to get out of there so bad, and he traded me to Chicago for Will Perdue straight up."
Dennis Rodman, via Cold As Balls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrPlR8BtMM&feature=emb_title)

First time iv read Dennis say he liked David.

Remember alot of bad mouthing of Dave after the trade.

Probably thpught Dave was a big pussy for putting up with Pop.


The worm is right about one thing . Pop traded rodman for next to nothing in getting back Will Purdue.

[daslicer]

LMAO revisionist history about Rodman wanting to win. He wanted to win so badly he started jacking up retarded three pointers in the first quarter of a must win Game 2 of the WCF to force Hill to bench him.

Rodman also arrived late for game 5 and wasn't there for start of tipoff. When you are late for a must win playoff game it shows you are not committed to winning.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

:cry mah role player :cry

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Knew this shit would pop up after it was on reddit the last couple of days. Of course ST is the only place where people would side with Rodman because 'contrarian'.

Everyone who has any memories from the mid 90s Spurs knows the truth. That dumb cokehead failed the team, he was the reason why they lost to the Rockets. He's the original quitter.

[gambit1990]

did dennis have good to great (for his role) games while with the spurs?

[couchman]

Rodman quit on the Spurs because his ego was bigger than winning.
Nothing he says should ever be taken seriously.

On a separate note:
Will Perdue was nothing special, but he was good depth for the '99 Spurs Title.

[tim_duncan_fan]

lol at players like Horry and Rodman getting in front of a camera and complaining because the team didn't have enough dumb antics.

They are too old to be that immature and boring.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

lol at players like Horry and Rodman getting in front of a camera and complaining because the team didn't have enough dumb antics.

They are too old to be that immature and boring.

Add Jack too.

Desperately trying to stay relevant on the back of more successful people and failing miserably, like Scottie Pippen.

[RC_Drunkford]

He ain't wrong though. That's classic Dictatorvich

[Big Empty]

So now its Pop’s fault Dennis put a wedding dress & makeup on, ok…

[donaldsonian]

The worm is right about one thing . Pop traded rodman for next to nothing in getting back Will Purdue.

But when all was said and done, the trade was effectively Bill Curley for Will Perdue since the Spurs got Sean Elliott back anyway.

[KingKev]

The worm is right about one thing . Pop traded rodman for next to nothing in getting back Will Purdue.

Pretty redic we couldn’t get something better. I still remember the moment seeing “Bulls acquire Dennis Rodman from the Spurs for Will Perdue and “other consideration”” go across the ticker. Did we get those other considerations back in the DDR trade? Lolol

He gave us 10-15 minutes a night of tough defense and 6 fouls on Shaq in that era at least.

[lefty]

Purdue worked his ass off everytime he was on the court, Jordan respected the hell out of him (even though he punched him lol)

[BatManu20]

This brings back memories. He’s right in the sense that Pop didn’t like him and that he wasn’t a good fit culturally. Think everyone knows that by now. But let’s not forget that Rodman literally quit on the Spurs in the ‘95 WCF because he wasn’t happy with how the series was going… Rodman was a tough personality to deal with. He and David were a bad fit together, both in personality and it style of play, and it was best for both parties to move on after the ‘95 season.


https://www.opencourt-basketball.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/rodman-robinson-gett.jpg

[Dex]

Rodman sounds like he wants to make everything about him, but that is no surprise considering his personality.

Otherwise, he's not entirely wrong...and this is just his perception of the situation. Rodman was a loose cannon, and Pop doesn't suffer fools lightly...so they were destined to butt heads. In terms of Spurs culture and "getting over yourself", Mr. Wedding Dress was about as far from that as you could get.

99% of the league has nothing but good things to say about Pop. Funny how the only guys who seem to want to talk shit about him are the ones who couldn't handle him...Rodman, SJax, etc. Maybe they should look inward.

[exstatic]

Rodman Stans are funny.

[MultiTroll]

This is old news. Nice try with your trolling OP but this is fail and I say this as someone who isn't a Popovich supporter.


LMAO revisionist history about Rodman wanting to win. He wanted to win so badly he started jacking up retarded three pointers in the first quarter of a must win Game 2 of the WCF to force Hill to bench him.


Knew this shit would pop up after it was on reddit the last couple of days. Of course ST is the only place where people would side with Rodman because 'contrarian'.

Everyone who has any memories from the mid 90s Spurs knows the truth. That dumb cokehead failed the team, he was the reason why they lost to the Rockets. He's the original quitter.
On top of coke appears to be a 20+ year blowout alcoholic.
Thus his memory is likely very skewed.
In addition to being a narcissistic douchebag who makes things up even if/when he is not on substance abuse overload.

[superbigtime]

Rodman is a front runner.

[Uriel]

It just occurred to me that both the winningest coach in NBA history and the winningest coach in college basketball history both have military backgrounds. I wonder if that's a coincidence.

[TDomination]

Rodman was a quitter. When things got too tough he bailed.
Everybody called Robinson soft but that label should have gone to Rodman.
Can't get much softer than quitting on your team when they need you most.

[lefty]

Carried by Kukoc and Pippen

[stephen jackson]

That Rodman spurs jersey is fire

[John B]

He’s ____ (insert Rodman here). He does what ___ (Rodman) does.
Pop has strong personality and would make players do what he wants, until what you prove to him that what your own way wins ball games. Then maybe he’ll let you slide. But in Rodman’s case, Pop probably just saw him as a rotten egg. An older and more experienced Pop could’ve probably done differently.

[Mr. Body]

What's funny is for all his hair dyes and wearing wedding dresses and all his other shit, Dennis Rodman is a footnote to footnotes in NBA history. He's like his pal Madonna, barely remembered. What he's most known for now is his bizarre and stupid friendship with the murderous North Korean dictator.

Meanwhile, Popovich is so widely respected, the basketball HOF keeps asking him to join and he keeps turning them down.

[exstatic]

He’s ____ (insert Rodman here). He does what ___ (Rodman) does.
Pop has strong personality and would make players do what he wants, until what you prove to him that what your own way wins ball games. Then maybe he’ll let you slide. But in Rodman’s case, Pop probably just saw him as a rotten egg. An older and more experienced Pop could’ve probably done differently.

An older, more experienced Pop would never have made the mistake that the previous front office did in trading for him in the first place.

[John B]

What's funny is for all his hair dyes and wearing wedding dresses and all his other shit, Dennis Rodman is a footnote to footnotes in NBA history. He's like his pal Madonna, barely remembered. What he's most known for now is his bizarre and stupid friendship with the murderous North Korean dictator.

Meanwhile, Popovich is so widely respected, the basketball HOF keeps asking him to join and he keeps turning them down.

Rodman for all his antics is a HOFer and member of the 75 Greatest, on top of all his defensive, rebounding accolades. I don’t think anyone would give a good account of the history of the NBA without mentioning his name. His personality is bizarre, but the guy was a baller.

[widowmaker]

Yeah pop was trying to help him out. Just look at how that half a tranny turned out. He wanted to be a rebellious teenage girl instead coming out with a new hair color every week.

[Dirks_Finale]

It worked well in that the Spurs won 62 games. They were top 5 defense and offense in 95. Plus they were very entertaining to watch from a non spur's fan POV.

What they needed was someone like Phil to deal with those complex personalities.


This brings back memories. He’s right in the sense that Pop didn’t like him and that he wasn’t a good fit culturally. Think everyone knows that by now. But let’s not forget that Rodman literally quit on the Spurs in the ‘95 WCF because he wasn’t happy with how the series was going… Rodman was a tough personality to deal with. He and David were a bad fit together, both in personality and it style of play, and it was best for both parties to move on after the ‘95 season.


https://www.opencourt-basketball.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/rodman-robinson-gett.jpg

[Mr. Body]

Rodman for all his antics is a HOFer and member of the 75 Greatest, on top of all his defensive, rebounding accolades. I don’t think anyone would give a good account of the history of the NBA without mentioning his name. His personality is bizarre, but the guy was a baller.

Did he really make the top 75? That's stupid. He just managed to get on an all-time Bulls team and was a good role-player on the Bad Boys. He's a character but he's not an all time player. That's just ESPN hype.

[Mr. Body]

Meanwhile younger fans know him about as well as they know Mitch Richmond.

[rjv]

https://e00-marca.uecdn.es/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2020/05/10/15891301802336.jpg

[paperboy77]

Yeah fuck Pop and his views.

[Twisted_Dawg]

Rodman was angry with the Spurs going back to the previous season when they wouldn't renegotiate his contract. He made snide remarks about the Spurs GM "Bill Bass or whatever the hell his name is". He was rumored to have gambling debts and money issues. Many of us that were around during this time believe Rodman intentionally did his best to throw that championship series.

[daslicer]

Meanwhile younger fans know him about as well as they know Mitch Richmond.

Rodman is well known even among young 20 year olds due to his celebrity status. I don't' respect him but his celebrity status is the reason why he was able to get the 75 greatest and HOF when he didn't deserve it.

[DMC]

Knew this shit would pop up after it was on reddit the last couple of days. Of course ST is the only place where people would side with Rodman because 'contrarian'.

Everyone who has any memories from the mid 90s Spurs knows the truth. That dumb cokehead failed the team, he was the reason why they lost to the Rockets. He's the original quitter.

That's not contrarian (<---- that's contrarian). That's just trolling.

[exstatic]

Rodman is well known even among young 20 year olds due to his celebrity status. I don't' respect him but his celebrity status is the reason why he was able to get the 75 greatest and HOF when he didn't deserve it.

Rodman hasn’t had celebrity status in 20 years, other than in North Korea.

[The Truth #6]

In fairness, the player we traded for in Detroit was not the one that arrived in San Antonio. My opinion: we wanted a scrappy, hard as nails player to play alongside Robinson, who was generally seen as too nice and wouldn't get dirty. So, we bring in Rodman. Rodman didn't have any of the weird shit in his personal life bleeding into the tabloids in Detroit. He was crazy ON the court, but not off of it.

The summer before he was traded, he tried to kill himself in his car in the parking lot at the Palace. After that, he made some self-empowering pact with himself to be his true self and be free and never apologize for who he is, or some version of that inspirational self talk. He shows up in San Antonio with the same goofy haircut that Wesley Snipes had in some movie at the time. As time went on, it became obvious that Rodman was more invested in things off the court, then on the court. Yes, he still rebounded like crazy, but it was basically masturbatory and at the expense of being a team player, as he refused to shoot the ball, even when he had a layup. So yeah, his self indulgence never ended. In his second year, the team pulled a coup in trading to get Ninja Sean Elliot back, but it fell apart in the playoffs, and Rodman was dumped.

That's my recollection. I'm sure others will see it differently.

[daslicer]

Rodman hasn’t had celebrity status in 20 years, other than in North Korea.

He still a celebrity and lives off of his fame. That's how he makes all of his money today.

[SayTown]

This brings back memories. He’s right in the sense that Pop didn’t like him and that he wasn’t a good fit culturally. Think everyone knows that by now. But let’s not forget that Rodman literally quit on the Spurs in the ‘95 WCF because he wasn’t happy with how the series was going… Rodman was a tough personality to deal with. He and David were a bad fit together, both in personality and it style of play, and it was best for both parties to move on after the ‘95 season.

I think they were a great fit together on the court, that 95 team might be my favorite Spurs team to watch ever and they would would have been my favorite Spurs team for sure if they had rang. Back in the days when some playoff and even some regular season games were Pay Per View only but I had a hot box so it was all good.

[Ice009]

Add Jack too.

Desperately trying to stay relevant on the back of more successful people and failing miserably, like Scottie Pippen.

I haven't kept up with Pippen since Rachel Nichols' version of 'The Jump' was cancelled. What is he up to now?

[John B]

This episode of Pawn Stars, of Rodman’s ex-wife selling his signed jerseys is funny :lol:lol


https://youtu.be/5f45-uXtBHw

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I haven't kept up with Pippen since Rachel Nichols' version of 'The Jump' was cancelled. What is he up to now?

Had a book out recently (haven't read it), where he apparently badmouthed Jordan, Bulls, etc. Basically trying to stay relevant and make some money from his book by spouting headliner material stuff.

[KingKev]

Whether some of you old men like it or not the guy is still a pop culture icon. Earlier this week I noticed some hipster rapper chilling with Kanye wearing a Rodman t-shirt. The youth love him.

[dbestpro]

Meanwhile younger fans know him about as well as they know Mitch Richmond.

This. It feels like most who are posting on Rodman we're in grade school when he played.

[exstatic]

He still a celebrity and lives off of his fame. That's how he makes all of his money today.

Went to Qscores.com to check, and a search on him returns no value. Officially a has been.

[Gagnrath]

Rodman hasn’t had celebrity status in 20 years, other than in North Korea.
Thing is he does it's definitely low tier celebrity status but it's there. He's a weird sort of epic party host where when Dennis is appears it's kinda auto dance party. That said he also seems to be a pretty decent guy from the next morning he will help clean up the empties. If your coffee table got broke he brings a new one next week.... Yeah the new one has weird medusa statues for corners and doesn't go with the living room but it is limited edition and sorta valuable.

[spurs1990]

In fairness, the player we traded for in Detroit was not the one that arrived in San Antonio. My opinion: we wanted a scrappy, hard as nails player to play alongside Robinson, who was generally seen as too nice and wouldn't get dirty. So, we bring in Rodman. Rodman didn't have any of the weird shit in his personal life bleeding into the tabloids in Detroit. He was crazy ON the court, but not off of it.

The summer before he was traded, he tried to kill himself in his car in the parking lot at the Palace. After that, he made some self-empowering pact with himself to be his true self and be free and never apologize for who he is, or some version of that inspirational self talk. He shows up in San Antonio with the same goofy haircut that Wesley Snipes had in some movie at the time. As time went on, it became obvious that Rodman was more invested in things off the court, then on the court. Yes, he still rebounded like crazy, but it was basically masturbatory and at the expense of being a team player, as he refused to shoot the ball, even when he had a layup. So yeah, his self indulgence never ended. In his second year, the team pulled a coup in trading to get Ninja Sean Elliot back, but it fell apart in the playoffs, and Rodman was dumped.

That's my recollection. I'm sure others will see it differently.

Again wasn’t a Spurs fan in 94 or 95 but I saw lots of games on HSE or Prime back then. There was so many occasions where Rodman looked like he was loving playing in the team. He had a motorcycle accident that knocked him out for a long stretch which is probably why the 94 team didn’t seed high (and Sean being vanquished to Detroit). There’s a great clip probably in YouTube where Rodman piles onto to DRob after a great and-1 play. You would think they genuinely liked playing alongside.

Sean, DRob and AJ need to have a no holds bar podcast in that era. Those three would know more than anyone if or why Rodman tanked in the WCF.

[The Truth #6]

^ Not unlikely that Rodman has Bipolar Disorder and those ebullient moments are possibly manic episodes. Hard to say from the outside for sure, and he's inherently hard to read.

[Chomag]

I agree that he's bonkers but Is he wrong though?

[KobesAchilles]

I agree that he's bonkers but Is he wrong though?
um yeah he is wrong on every facet. Bob Hiil isn't the pussy that Dennis would have you believe. He was a very prideful man who went down swinging when it came to his tenure here. Also Dennis casually mentioning, "other than the playoffs" is the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life. Like the fucking playoffs aren't the most important part of the whole damn season.

Pop or no Pop, if Dennis didn't quit then we go to the finals that year. hell if Dennis didn't leave Horry wide fucking open to secure a rebound that never happened then we ring that year. 95 is the worst media narrative against an all-time great player and it's primarily Rodman's fucking fault

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

"Dennis Rodman can suck my ball sack. Getting rid of him was a key to paving the way to my five rings. Bitches sleep with the Fitches." :pop:

[Bojo]

Hmm, weird. Thought the guy liked dictators.

[Twisted_Dawg]

um yeah he is wrong on every facet. Bob Hiil isn't the pussy that Dennis would have you believe. He was a very prideful man who went down swinging when it came to his tenure here. Also Dennis casually mentioning, "other than the playoffs" is the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life. Like the fucking playoffs aren't the most important part of the whole damn season.

Pop or no Pop, if Dennis didn't quit then we go to the finals that year. hell if Dennis didn't leave Horry wide fucking open to secure a rebound that never happened then we ring that year. 95 is the worst media narrative against an all-time great player and it's primarily Rodman's fucking fault

:bobo Well said

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Pop: "Dennis, I expect you to show up and work hard"

Rodman: EXPOSEDDDD MR MILITARY

[exstatic]

Pop never actually coached him. As the GM, I doubt he spoke to him more than once or twice.

[dbestpro]

What some may not realize is Rodman had tremendous work ethic. He would ride an exercise bike for an hour after the basketball game. He had a construction company that he phyisically worked in during the off season. There is more to him than the oddities.

[Fusternino]

Looks like Rodman is still using a flip phone from his recent IG posts.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Fuck Dennis Rodman.

[T Park]

In fairness, the player we traded for in Detroit was not the one that arrived in San Antonio. My opinion: we wanted a scrappy, hard as nails player to play alongside Robinson, who was generally seen as too nice and wouldn't get dirty. So, we bring in Rodman. Rodman didn't have any of the weird shit in his personal life bleeding into the tabloids in Detroit. He was crazy ON the court, but not off of it.

The summer before he was traded, he tried to kill himself in his car in the parking lot at the Palace. After that, he made some self-empowering pact with himself to be his true self and be free and never apologize for who he is, or some version of that inspirational self talk. He shows up in San Antonio with the same goofy haircut that Wesley Snipes had in some movie at the time. As time went on, it became obvious that Rodman was more invested in things off the court, then on the court. Yes, he still rebounded like crazy, but it was basically masturbatory and at the expense of being a team player, as he refused to shoot the ball, even when he had a layup. So yeah, his self indulgence never ended. In his second year, the team pulled a coup in trading to get Ninja Sean Elliot back, but it fell apart in the playoffs, and Rodman was dumped.

That's my recollection. I'm sure others will see it differently.

The Rockets and Pistons had a deal done, Robert Horry and whoever for Sean Elliott and whoever. Deal was canceled when Elliott failed his physical.

[T Park]

Again wasn’t a Spurs fan in 94 or 95 but I saw lots of games on HSE or Prime back then. There was so many occasions where Rodman looked like he was loving playing in the team. He had a motorcycle accident that knocked him out for a long stretch which is probably why the 94 team didn’t seed high (and Sean being vanquished to Detroit). There’s a great clip probably in YouTube where Rodman piles onto to DRob after a great and-1 play. You would think they genuinely liked playing alongside.

Sean, DRob and AJ need to have a no holds bar podcast in that era. Those three would know more than anyone if or why Rodman tanked in the WCF.


Rodman’s motorcycle accident was in the spring of 95. 94 they stunk because it was pretty much Robinson, Rodman, Dale Ellis and thats it. The 94 team was awful.