Kobe Bryant didn’t flinch, didn’t gasp. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
Better yet, he didn’t argue Coach Phil Jackson’s assessment of who was the greatest athlete he had ever coached.
Jackson said this past summer that Dennis Rodman, not Michael Jordan or Bryant, was the best athlete’s he’s had on a team.
“I do not disagree with that. I do not disagree with that at all,”
Bryant said Monday. “You first think of Jordan, obviously, but Dennis as an athlete, he was a freak of nature in terms of his size.
“He ran like a deer. He could run all day. He could defend from the one position all the way to the five. Look at one series, he’s guarding Jordan when he was with Detroit and fast-forward that when he’s with the bulls, he’s guarding Shaq. That’s something, you don’t see athletes like that too often.”
He was an amazing player. Too bad he couldn’t control his personal life better.
Dennis Rodman knew how to play his game and off the court it was all a show and if you fell short of it then thats thats but hands down Dennis you knew the game . Rodman did his thing but he showed up when that wistle blew and played
The title of this article makes it sound like Kobe was insulting Rodman, but instead that statement was a praise. How low and how desperate can a writer get?
nobody in the history of basketball with as miniscule a scoring average has ever had as much influence on the outcome of games night after night as Dennis Rodman
Rodman’s mind could calculate where the re-bound would end up as soon as the ball left the shooters hands. Certain people have certain gifts, that was his.
I remember stories of Rodman working out right after playing all 48 minutes of a game which is unheard of. He would lift weights and hit the bike and keep on going into the night (at the bar).
Think Rodman would leave a sample of himself …so we could clone him as a future Laker?
Scottie could defend 1thro5 as well.. Rod and Pip were rare..
I think between mj, pip, kobe, and worm.. they all offer something different with their athletism.. not taking anything away from rodman but he could devote all his energy to hustling as the ball was never with him for very long on offense.. he definetly portrayed that aura that reminds you of energizer bunny, making a great assist and running past mid court pumping his fist…
Which he actually did for the Lakers for several games before they dumped him.. the year Glen Rice was aquired..
For 5 games it was Shaq, Rodman, Rice, Kobe, VanExel, Horry, Fisher..
much more interesting than the Malone Payton additions in 2001.
name me one centre Pipy longstocking ever guarded… you must have a selective memory, because that didn’t happen
rodman was the greatest defender of all time. Period.
I forget which of the Bulls championships over Utah it was, but I thought Rodman absolutely deserved to be the Finals MVP (instead it went to Jordan of course). He was totally inside Malone’s head and the Jazz never had a chance. He will never get in because he is crazy, but I think Rodman deserves to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Adam,
Name me a PG that Rodman defended???
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson was a pg he guarded!
Phil was totally correct when he made this statement. Rodman could guard anybody. Magic, Barkley, Jordan….I remember watching him catch Ewing at the rim once….it was awesome. And crazy or not it was his attitude that made him such a great defender and rebounder. Let the scorers score, he focused on what he did best.
Rodman was, without doubt, by far the greatest rebounder in the history of basketball. Often he led the league in rebounding by SEVERAL rebounds per game, at 6′8″, with many HOF players in the mix. Absolutely amazing rebounder, No.1, daylight second and third. Arguably the best defender too.
Please remember Rodman for what he did on the court .
He was special as he made defense a art form , few in
the league today want to play any defense !
All great teams had at least one great defender .
RODMAN WAS PROBABLY THE BEST IN HIS TIME NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT HIS PAY AND PLAYED HARD EVERY MINUTE OF THE GAME I WISH WE HAD A RODMAN MAYBE WE WOULDVE TAKEN IT LAST YEAR!!!(ARTEST?)
he should be voted to the hall of fame ,with all those rebounding titles and defensive player of the year awards…plus 5 rings! the guy deserves his recognition by now…
Rodman should have been MVP of the Bulls-Sonics final instead of Jordan. Rodman had all of the Sonics front line spooked and led the Bulls to a 3-0 lead before ending with a 4-2 final.
Best energy, best rebounder, best defender & could score if he wanted…and yes he could defend 1 through 5 on the court. He was probably Karl Malone’s worst nightmare. Too bad it didn’t work out with the Lakers…if they knew they were going to hire Phil the next season, maybe they could have made the Rodman thing work
Rodman,
Wow its about time we recognized him for his hustle on the court and not his lifestyle off the court. The only reason he’s not in the HOF is because we (they) are still looking at the image and lifestyle off the court. He wasn’t a 10M a year player, but he played like one. You know its true
There is no reason for Dennis Rodman to be overlooked by the Hall of Fame…He was the best all-around athlete of his era as Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor. The NBA HOF and Commissioner should be ashame…plus he is definitely one of the top 50 players of all time in my book as well. Give the man his due. Anything less is a disgrace to the game and those already enshined in the HOF.
Should we keep or remove Kobe, Magic Shaq, Barkley or Jordan from the HOF by thinking of what they did or might have done off the court in the casinos or in bed or who knows. At least Rodman was real and honest. Many of us may wish we could have free spirit. What an awesome player. He brought a very special energy on to the court. Take care of him. Use him as an example of how to really think and play in this marvelous game of basketball.
rodman was the man at what he did best defense and rebounding…. and he dated beautiful women lol…as far as best athlete maybe..when u can score play defense rebound and mentaly guide ur team to wins with the least amount of talent then thats the best athlete…..Koby,Jordan,Magic
Rodman should be in the N.B.A hall of fame. forget his wildness and judge him by his rebounds hussle and love for the game. we’ll never see another player that played as hard as he did everynight. the guy gave 110% and you have to respect him for that. let’s make sure Rodman get his spot in the hall.
Adam, dont try to highlight Rodman by taking from Pippen. He doesnt need it- Rodmans game spoke for itself!! I can recall many a times when Pip spent time guarding the 5 spot and many talents with a size advantage on him. The most versatile 7 footer ever in KG had huge problems when Pip guarded him. Its like saying Pip was a lesser all around player than the man they call Boris Diaw who can play 1 thro 5. With the caliber of big men like Grant, Sheed, Barkley and Hakeem onside, Pip did his job. I definetly believe the defensive forward combo of Rodman-Pip was the best ever and Rodman deserves more praise than the League has recognized for his personal accomplishments.
To those illiterates who say “name me a center Rodman guarded”… uh… try reading the second to last sentence in the article again. If your reading comprehension is that bad, I have no idea why you bother.
Its a comment page Sean K.. for opinions.. deal with it, Obviously your comprehension skills are off the charts because you can tell the difference between center and guard… or not..
Rodman could defend centers, yes, and the one, that includes players a few traditional sizes less than Magic as well.. as long as it didn’t create a mismatch advantage for the opposition. To write an article that examines the political forces that are behind who or who does not gain status as a Hall of Famer would be interesting!