NBA legend Dennis Rodman was caught stealing watches from an airport gift shop after graduating high school.
Luckily for Rodman, the charges were dropped.
NBA icon Scottie Pippen, who played with Rodman for three seasons on the Chicago Bulls, wrote about Rodman’s journey to the NBA in his book, “Unguarded.”
“How he even made it to the NBA in the first place is quite a story,” Pippen wrote. “His father took off when Dennis was only three years old. Dennis didn’t see him again for 42 years. His mother worked a series of jobs to keep the family afloat. After graduating high school, Dennis was a janitor at the airport in Dallas when he was caught on camera stealing watches from a gift shot. He was fortunate the charges were dropped or the story might have ended there.
“A miracle then took place. Dennis grew. He went from five foot nine to six foot eight in one year. He tried basketball for the second time. The first time in high school, it didn’t work out. This time, he hooked up with a small community college in Gainesville, Texas. From there, he went to Southeastern Oklahoma State. He was on his way.”
The Detroit Pistons drafted Rodman with the 27th overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. Rodman spent seven seasons with the Pistons. He won two championships and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
In 1993, Detroit traded Rodman to the San Antonio Spurs. Rodman played two seasons with the Spurs before getting traded to the Bulls in 1995.
“So, in the summer of 1995, when Phil Jackson asked how I felt about the possibility of the Bulls acquiring Dennis, who was then 34, I didn’t object,” Pippen wrote in his book. “Nor did Michael Jordan Not that there weren’t some concerns. Of course there were. Michael’s reaction was something to the effect of ‘Dennis Rodman? Really?’ Yes, really, and it made a lot of sense.”
Rodman appeared in 199 games with the Bulls. He averaged 5.2 points and 15.3 rebounds and won three consecutive rebounding titles.
Chicago won three straight championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998 behind Rodman, Pippen and Jordan.
“He studied the tendencies of his opponents and teammates, planting himself in perfect rebounding position even before guys got into a shooting mode,” Pippen wrote in his book. “Dennis possessed an unbelievable basketball IQ. He could have a tremendous impact on a game without scoring a single point. How many players can you say that about?”
“Dennis was one of the smartest guys I played with,” Jordan said in The Last Dance about Rodman. “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.”
Rodman, Pippen and Jordan are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. They are three of the best players in NBA history.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
