Dennis Rodman’s Memories of Playing With Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant

By Eduardo SolanoChicago Bulls, NBA

Dennis Rodman, one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players of all time, had many legends as his teammates, including Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the Bulls, and Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in the Lakers.

Rodman’s best years in the league were with the Pistons and Bulls. A five-time NBA champion, Rodman was a key part of the Bad Boys Pistons that won back-to-back championships, and years later, he joined Jordan and Pippen in the Bulls to form perhaps the best Big Three in NBA history, winning three championships in three years.

Rodman’s Lakers Stint

The 1998-99 Lakers had a wild season, which also featured a 37-year-old Rodman, who signed with the Lakers a few weeks into the lockout-shortened campaign in an effort to add defense, rebounding, and experience. The Lakers had a 10-game winning streak shortly after Rodman joined the team, but things would soon take a turn for the worse.

Reports of Rodman throwing parties and showing up late to practice (sometimes without shoes or socks) surfaced. As a result, the Lakers waived him just seven weeks after they brought him in. The Lakers then were swept by the Spurs in the second round of the 1999 NBA Playoffs.

Rodman tried to help the Lakers take the next step, but in the end, he played just 23 games for them, despite averaging 11.2 rebounds in 28.6 minutes at 37 years old. He appeared in an episode of CBS Sports’ “Reiter Than You” with Bill Reiter and said that he was tired of Shaq and Kobe’s bickering.

“So I start playing, right, we won 10 games in a row,” Rodman said. “Ten games in a row when I got there, right? I said, ‘Jerry (former Lakers owner Jerry Buss), I gotta take a break.’ One reason: Shaq and Kobe.

I couldn’t deal with those [expletives]. I’m not going to lie to you: I couldn’t deal with them. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not used to this,’ right? I’m used to winning, but I can’t deal with these [expletives expletive-ing] every [expletive] game. Like, [expletive]. I mean, every, I’m like, [expletive], we’re winning, what? So I go and I say… ‘I’m so used to having calm and serenity and stuff like that.’”

It’s safe to say that Rodman does not remember his time with the Lakers fondly. The seven-time NBA rebounding champion even suggested that Shaq and Kobe were a bit too dramatic, compared to Jordan and Pippen, “In Chicago, we never did this sh*t. If we got mad, we got mad at ourselves,” Rodman explained.

The failed Rodman experiment helped the Lakers realize they needed more stability and a new direction, so they brought Phil Jackson after that season, and with O’Neal and Bryant, the former Bulls head coach led the Lakers to three straight NBA Championships.

Eduardo Solano