During the 1997-98 NBA season, Dennis Rodman left the Chicago Bulls and took a vacation with Carmen Electra to Las Vegas.
Rodman was only supposed to be gone from the Bulls for 48 hours, but he was away from the team longer than that, something Michael Jordan knew would happen.
“You ain’t gonna get that dude back in 48 hours,” Jordan said in Episode 3 of The Last Dance. “I don’t care what you say. He’s done.”
Rodman returned to Chicago from Las Vegas, but the NBA rebounding machine was hiding at his apartment with Electra.
Jordan went to Rodman’s apartment and dragged him back to practice.
“He didn’t come back on time,” Jordan said in Episode 4 of The Last Dance. “We had to go get his a** out of bed. And I’m not gonna say what’s in his bed and where he was.”
Rodman played in 80 games for the Bulls in 1997-98. He averaged 4.7 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.2 blocks while shooting 43.1% from the field and leading the league in rebounds per game.
Rodman said in The Last Dance that he appreciated Jordan and Scottie Pippen for accepting him for who he was.
“Michael and Scottie accepted me for who I am,” Rodman said. “I go party hard, but I work hard. I think that we get along so well because we wanna win. We wanna win a championship.”
The Bulls went 62-20 in 1997-98. Jordan averaged 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.5 blocks while shooting 46.5% overall, 23.8% from beyond the arc and 78.4% from the free-throw line. The NBA icon won his 10th scoring title and fifth MVP.
Chicago defeated the New Jersey Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers in the 1998 Eastern Conference playoffs to advance to the NBA Finals. The Bulls faced the Utah Jazz in the ’98 NBA Finals, their opponent from the ’97 NBA Finals.
After the Bulls beat the Jazz in Game 3 of the ’98 NBA Finals, Rodman skipped practice the next day to fly to Detroit and wrestle with Hulk Hogan.
Chicago fined Rodman $10,000.
“I just think that Phil (Jackson) realized that I need to always do me,” Rodman said in Episode 10 of The Last Dance. “Just go do what I do. … They’re gonna get 100% when I’m on the court.”
The Bulls defeated the Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals in six games for their sixth championship in franchise history. Jordan won his sixth Finals MVP, Pippen won his sixth ring and Rodman captured his fifth championship.
After the 1997-98 season, Jordan retired from the NBA, the Bulls traded Pippen to the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal and Rodman signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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