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oh yea, i think a lot of people forget that he was a freak of nature. he just wasnt a huge scorer, so his athleticism wasnt highlighted quite as much.
The greatest athlete according to Jackson
August 26th, 2008, 7:06 am · 4 Comments · posted by JANIS CARR, OCREGISTER.COM
After receiving an honorary doctor of letters degree from his alma mater, University of North Dakota, Lakers coach Phil Jackson touched upon a range of subjects from the school’s nickname to the greatest athlete he has ever coached.
And it wasn’t Michael Jordan.
Or Kobe Bryant.
Or Shaquille O’Neal.
Not Karl Malone, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, Bill Cartwright or Smush Parker (OK, so he might not belong).
No, the player Jackson called the greatest that he has coached is that wedding dress aficionado and Newport Beach police’s favorite basketball bad boy, Dennis Rodman.
That’s right. No need to rub your eyes.
“He could probably play a 48-minute game and play the 48th minute stronger than the first minute of the game,” Jackson told the crowd at UND. “He was that terrific an athlete.”
Jackson credited Madonna for helping Rodman overcome his “shy” personality.
“Madonna saw what was in there and wanted him . . . to do what she does: be outrageous, and kind of talked him into opening up his character,” Jackson said. “And Dennis didn’t know how many ways he could open up his character.”
oh yea, i think a lot of people forget that he was a freak of nature. he just wasnt a huge scorer, so his athleticism wasnt highlighted quite as much.
Rodman: All-time athlete or wacko freak?
Former professional basketball player Dennis Rodman poses in this undated publicity photograph, with lingerie models promoting his appearance at Lingerie Bowl III. Rodman was be part of a celebrity-studded halftime sports &entertainment extravaganza on Sunday February 5, 2006. The event will also feature actresses and models Jenny McCarthy and Cindy Margolis. Horizon Productions, REUTERS
I thought he was going to say Chad Johnson.
Easily the most underrated player in all of professional sports history. Dude should have been an all-star year in and year out and definitely deserves to be in the HOF.
Especially after the way he tanked the 95 WCF and cost the Spurs a championship.
they werent going to win regardless.
Sho' nuff
I've always said, if I could build a team from all the players throughout history, Rodman would be an automatic pick.
^ Which is why you're not a GM.
oh absolutely. i have always believed that he has the most unique skill-set ever. there are plenty of great slashers, great shooters, great post-up players, but no player has ever come remotely close to matching his defense, hustling, rebounding abilities. a lot of people think it doesnt take much skill or talent to do those things well, but it really does. requires significant athletic ability to defend players who are bigger, faster, and stronger than you, as well as snagging rebounds away from them. requires great judgement, vision and timing to get the rebounds before other people and to stick players like glue. requires incredible amounts of stamina, will, and determination to never give up and play hard all game long.
you are selling rodman awfully short. your blind homerism for the spurs must have something do with that.
it still amazes me to think that a 6'7" undersized power forward outrebounded every player in the NBA for nearly a decade. That's a pretty unbelievable accomplishment.
Do yourself a favor and go check out Rodman's stat totals by season. Throw in everything Stretch said (really consider the intangibility stuff) and then revise your views.
And BTW, the reason the Utah Jazz lost to the Bulls in 97' 98' isn't because we were afraid of Michael. No, it's because Dennis Rodman got into Malone's head like a psychologist and completely owned him.
Another Rodman story I heard once involved the Pistons, after a game an un-named Piston went to Chuck Daly and asked why he wasn't getting more playing time and how he could get more. Daly stood up and told the player to follow him into the team's training room. "That's how you get more playing time," Daly said before walking back to his office. In the corner Dennis Rodman was on an exercise bike riding as hard as he possibly could. And again, this was following a freshly completed NBA game. That says it all about Rodman right there.
- Rodman was traded from Detroit because he was a nut who they got sick of dealing with.
- Rodman was traded from San Antonio because he flat out quit on the team in the 95 WCF.
- Rodman was cut from the Lakers because he was too much of an ass in the locker room. Don't give me the washed up excuse either, because he played well when he wanted to (check his stats).
That's three championship contenders that had to give up on him because he had his head shoved so far up his ass.
I remember an interview with Phil Jackson in the 99 Finals right after he took over as the Lakers coach where he specifically said he didn't want Rodman back, but that he'd welcome Pippen or Jordan.
I don't get it when people say they'd want Rodman. It's like saying you'd want Michael Ray Richardson because he was such an explosive scorer for 4-5 years while ignoring how he destroyed his career when he couldn't kick the blow.
he also won 5 championships.
im not saying he was a great lockerroom guy, but his contributions on the court are unmatchable by any player in NBA history.
lol baseline bum is one butthurt mofo
should we cue in some lame shots about the Mavericks?
Showing up and playing is a pretty important intangible to me.
Karl Malone got owned in every playoff series but one (04 WCSF) when he went against a decent PF. Brian Grant held him to 8 points in elimination games in back to back years, which is owning Malone a lot worse than Rodman did. Shawn Kemp owned him in the 96 WCF. Malone was never a big game player.And BTW, the reason the Utah Jazz lost to the Bulls in 97' 98' isn't because we were afraid of Michael. No, it's because Dennis Rodman got into Malone's head like a psychologist and completely owned him.
That doesn't say it all about Rodman, and it's ridiculous that anyone can look past his checkered performances in Detroit, SA, LA, and Dallas and completely ignore them.Another Rodman story I heard once involved the Pistons, after a game an un-named Piston went to Chuck Daly and asked why he wasn't getting more playing time and how he could get more. Daly stood up and told the player to follow him into the team's training room. "That's how you get more playing time," Daly said before walking back to his office. In the corner Dennis Rodman was on an exercise bike riding as hard as he possibly could. And again, this was following a freshly completed NBA game. That says it all about Rodman right there.
Last edited by baseline bum; 08-27-2008 at 02:32 PM.
Steve Kerr won 5 les too.
Dude, it's fact that Rodman sabotaged contending teams. If you could guarantee me i'd get the Rodman from the late 80s I'd completely agree about wanting to build my team around him, as he was fast, smart, athletic, a monster both on the glass and in contesting shots, and someone who always ran the floor in transition. That's not the whole story on him though, and it's ridiculous when people act like it is.
Several incidents ed up Dennis Rodman as a person, and it was before Madonna.
This is rumor, but before Rodman became an emotional nut after getting involved with Madonna, he was a suicidal wreck because of his now ex-wife. Story is that he found her ing another Pistons player. Allegedly, it was Vinnie Johnson. So, not only was the woman he loved and shared a child with cheating on him, but it was with one of his teammates. like this happens to a lot of people, but as others have, Rodman didn't handle it well. At some point soon after, Chuck Daly found Rodman in his car outside the Palace garage with a handgun in his mouth. The Pistons actually wanted to trade Dennis before they did but worried he'd hurt himself, or worse, someone else. Daly didn't want Dennis in someone else's care yet.
I don't have first hand knowledge of any of that. Like I said, it's rumored legend. But, I tend to believe there's a lot of truth in it, and it's in part what transformed Dennis Rodman, the person.
All that said, that has nothing to do with his skill and talent as a basketball player. Off the court issues aside, take nothing away from his determination and approach to basketball as a compe or and player.
Sadly it did, because his off-court issues ruined his on-court performance. In Chicago he was lucky to be around two really strong minds like Phil Jackson and Jordan who kept him from going off the deep end, but they were tired of him too by the end of 98.
The won three les with him being a huge part of their success defensively.
Tired or not, he helped them win.
You could say the same for Horace Grant. He actually clinched a le for them too when he blocked KJ's game-winner in '93.
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