Michael Jordan Ripped Alonzo Mourning For Allowing Dennis Rodman To Irritate Him On The Basketball Court: ‘Alonzo’s Weak In The Mind’

NBA icon Michael Jordan ripped Alonzo Mourning for allowing Dennis Rodman to irritate him on the basketball court. 

Rodman is one of the biggest agitators in NBA history. 

“Of course, our guy Dennis Rodman can be irritating,” Jordan told ESPN in 1998. “But he used to guard me when he was with Detroit, and I didn’t let him get to me. I didn’t get irritated by any of the Pistons, because that was their tactic, to get into your head. Dennis gets into Alonzo Mourning’s head now. Alonzo’s weak in the mind. He has to know how to be tough and overlook those types of things. Alonzo’s an intimidator, but sometimes the intimidator can be intimidated. The bully can be bullied.”

Jordan and Rodman were teammates on the Chicago Bulls from 1995-96 to 1997-98. The two NBA legends helped the Bulls win three straight championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. 

Arguably the best player in NBA history, Jordan loved playing with Rodman, who won five championships and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards during his career. 

“Dennis was one of the smartest guys I played with,” Jordan said in The Last Dance doc 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 appeared in 199 games with the Bulls. He averaged 5.2 points and 15.3 rebounds and won three consecutive rebounding titles. 

The Bulls beat the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals and the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals behind Jordan, Rodman and Scottie Pippen. 

“His dresses doesn’t bother me,” Jordan said about Rodman after the Bulls won the 1997 NBA Finals. “His hair doesn’t bother me. Sure, I mean, he’s gonna go wacko every now and then. We’ve come to live with that. We’ve come to accept that. But you can’t find another player on the basketball court that works just as hard as Dennis Rodman. Gives 110%, dives at loose balls even if he can’t get them. That’s Dennis Rodman. So I don’t have a problem with Dennis, and I don’t think Phil does. I don’t think Scottie does. We’ve been able to control him to some degree, and we’re here for champions back-to-back.”

Rodman played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio 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. 

Meanwhile, Jordan played for the Bulls (twice) and Washington Wizards. He averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks and won five MVPs, six Finals MVPs and 10 scoring titles. 

Like Jordan and Rodman, Mourning is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He averaged 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals and 2.8 blocks with the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat and New Jersey Nets. 

A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mourning won his lone championship in 2006 with the Heat.