NBA legend Dennis Rodman would work out in the weight room for 1.5 hours after playing 45 minutes in a game for the Chicago Bulls.
Rodman played three seasons in Chicago.
“What was compelling about Dennis is after he would play 45 minutes in a game, he would go in the weight room for an hour-and-a-half,” Jim Stack, the Bulls’ assistant general manager during the dynasty, told the Daily Herald in 2011. “I’d see Dennis in there, and he’s working himself into a lather riding the exercise bike, lifting weights. That always stuck with me. The guy never gets tired. He was a freak like Michael Jordan in that respect. He was bionic.”
The Bulls acquired Rodman from the San Antonio Spurs in 1995. Rodman finished his Chicago career with averages of 5.2 points, 15.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks. He won three straight rebounding titles and helped the Bulls three-peat for a second time.
Chicago defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals and the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.
“Dennis was one of the smartest guys I played with,” Jordan said in The Last Dance doc. “He understood defensive strategy with all the rotations. He had no limits in terms of what he does. … He was a new character, but I knew Dennis, and I knew what he could do basketball-wise.”
The Bulls won three rings in 1991, 1992 and 1993 before acquiring Rodman. However, Rodman said in “The Last Dance” doc that Chicago wouldn’t have won three more titles without him.
“You got the great Michael Jordan, the great Scottie Pippen, the great Phil Jackson, but if you take me away from this team, do they still win a championship? I don’t think so,” Rodman said. “I love Michael Jordan to death. I love Scottie Pippen, all these guys, but they really don’t do the things that I do. I’m the only guy who does all the dirty work, taking abuse from other players. I wanna go out there and get my nose broke. I wanna get cut. Something that’s gonna really just bring out the hurt, the pain. I wanna feel that.”
One of the best players in NBA history, Rodman played for the Detroit Pistons, Spurs, Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 7.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks in 911 games.
A Hall of Famer, Rodman won five championships and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards. He also made two All-Star teams, eight All-Defensive teams and two All-NBA teams.
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