#FeatureWorthy

#Senators

The truth is not all of us will be high school sensations. Most of us will never even be recognized due to the fact that we don’t have insane athleticism or that we aren’t build like a monster. For most of life Dennis Rodman was in the same position. He gave up on his dreams until something crazy happened. This is his story.

Early Life-Tough Times/High School- Overshadowed

Dennis Keith Rodman was born in Trenton, New Jersey on May 13, 1961. When he was young, his father left his family, eventually settling in the Philippines. Rodman has many brothers and sisters; according to his father, he has either 26 or 28 siblings on his father's side. However, Rodman himself has stated that he is the oldest of a total of 47 children. His mother Shirley worked many jobs to support the family and give her children the life that she wanted them to have. At the time Dennis was insanely attached to his mother, due to the lack of a father. It got so bad that he was send to a nursery home. According to Dennis, he wasn’t loved as much as his sisters, which eventually got into his head.

While attending South Oak Cliff High School, Rodman was a gym class student of future Texas A&M basketball coach Gary Blair. Blair coached Rodman's sisters Debra and Kim, winning three state championships. However, Rodman was not considered an athletic standout. According to Rodman, he was "unable to hit a layup" and was listed in the high school basketball teams, but was either benched or cut from the squads. Measuring only 5 ft 6 as a freshman in high school and graduated at around 5 ft 9, basketball didn’t seem to be in his future.

Rock Bottom To Sky High

After high school, Rodman decided to give up on his dreams. He starting working as an overnight janitor to made some extra cash. It was here where Rodman has a massive growth spurt and shot up to 6 foot 7.

A family friend then got in contact Cooke County College. They were infested so that’s where he spend his freshman year. That season he averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds, before flunking out. After his short stint in Gainesville, he transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State University, an NAIA school. There, Rodman was a three-time NAIA All-American and led the NAIA in rebounding in both the 1984–1985 and 1985–1986 seasons. In three seasons there, 1983–1984 through 1985–1986, he averaged 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds, led the NAIA in rebounding twice and registered a .637 field goal percentage. At the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a pre-draft camp for NBA hopefuls, he won Most Valuable Player honors and caught the attention of the Detroit Pistons.

Dennis Rodman then declared for the 1986 NBA Draft. On this day all of his past struggles were forgotten as he was selected with the third pick in the second round by the “Bad Boy” Pistons.

The Beginning/ Breakout Seasons- 1989-1991

During Rodman’s first seasons, he was once again overshadowed. Playing alongside Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars at the guard positions, Adrian Dantley and Sidney Green at forward, and center Bill Laimbeer, he didn’t get any recognition. Still in his limited minutes he strived, averaging 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds. That season that Pistons won 52 games and after a 7 game series loss to the Celtics, Rodman publicly stated "Larry Bird is overrated in a lot of areas. ... Why does he get so much publicity? Because he's white. You never hear about a black player being the greatest". He got a lot of hate for this comment giving him a mean guy image.

In the following 1987–1988 season, Rodman steadily improved his stats, averaging 11.6 points and 8.7 rebounds and starting in 32 of 82 regular season games. The Pistons fought their way into the 1988 NBA Finals, and took a 3–2 lead, but lost in seven games.

Rodman remained a bench player during the 1988–1989 season, averaging 9.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in 27 minutes, yet providing such effective defense that he was voted into the All-Defensive Team, the first of eight times in his career

In the 1989–1990 season, Detroit lost perennial defensive forward Rick Mahorn when he was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves in that year's expansion draft.

Averaging 8.8 points and 9.7 rebounds while starting in the last 43 regular season games, he established himself as the best defensive player in the game; during this period, the Pistons won 59 games, and Rodman was lauded by the NBA "for his defense and rebounding skills, which were unparalleled in the league". For his feats, he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award; he also connected on a .595 field goal percentage, which made him the most precise shooter of the league. In the 1990 NBA Playoffs, the Pistons beat the Bulls again, and in the 1990 NBA Finals, Detroit met the Portland Trail Blazers. Rodman suffered from an injured ankle and was often replaced by Mark Aguirre, but even without his defensive hustle, Detroit beat Portland in five games and claimed their second title.

During the 1990-91 season, Rodman finally broke out. He finished the season averaging 8.2 points and 12.5 rebounnds, while winning his second Defensive Player of the Year Award. In the 1991 NBA Playoffs, however, the Pistons were swept by the championship-winning Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the 1991–1992 season where Rodman made a remarkable leap in his rebounding, collecting an astounding 18.7 rebounds per game.

Dark Times/ A New Chapter- San Antonio Spurs

During the 1992-93 season, Dennis Rodman hit rock bottom. Chuck Daly, who looked at like a father resigned, he got a divorce and he only played in 40 games. It got so bad, that I one night in February 1993, Rodman was found asleep in his car with a loaded rifle. Four years later in his biography As Bad As I Wanna Be, he confessed having thought about suicide.

In the 1993–1994 NBA season, Rodman joined a Spurs team which was built around perennial All-Star center David Robinson. This season he averaged 17.3 rebounds and made another All NBA Defensive Team. Rodman began to show first signs of unconventional behaviour; before the first game, he shaved his hair and dyed it blonde. During the season, he headbutted Stacey King and John Stockton, refused to leave the hardwood once after being ejected. Despite winning 55 games, the Spurs lost their first round matchup versus the Utah Jazz.

In the following 1994–1995 NBA season, Rodman clashed with the Spurs front office. He was suspended for the first three games, took a leave of absence on November 11, and was suspended again on December 7. He finally returned on December 10 after missing 19 games. After joining the team, he suffered a shoulder separation in a motorcycle accident, limiting his season to 49 games. Usually he would’ve been eliminated from the rebounding title, but he just exceeded the other benchmark, 800 rebounds. Once again though, the Spurs would lose to the Rockets in the playoffs.

Time To Win- Chicago Bulls

Prior to the 1995–1996 NBA season, Rodman was traded to the Chicago Bulls of perennial scoring champion Michael Jordan for center Will Perdue and cash considerations to fill a large void at power forward left by Horace Grant.

Under coach Phil Jackson, he averaged 5.5 points and 14.9 rebounds per game, winning yet another rebounding title, and was part of the great Bulls team that won 72 of 82 regular season games, an NBA record at the time. In the playoff the Bulls won the championship, giving Rodman his second title.

In the 1996–1997 NBA season, Rodman won his sixth rebounding title in a row with 16.7 boards per game, along with 5.7 points per game, but failed to rank another All-Defensive Team call-up.[17] However, he made more headlines for his notorious behavior. On January 15, 1997, he was involved in an incident during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After tripping over cameraman Eugene Amos, Rodman kicked Amos in the groin. Come playoff time Rodman was not himself, but the Chicago Bulls still defeated the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals.

The regular season of the 1997–1998 NBA season ended with Rodman winning his seventh consecutive rebounding title with 15.0 boards per game, along with 4.7 points per game. He grabbed 20 or more rebounds 11 times, among them a 29-board outburst against the Atlanta Hawks and 15 offensive boards (along with ten defensive) versus the Los Angeles Clippers. Led by the aging Jordan and Rodman (respectively 35 and 37 years old), the Bulls reached the 1998 NBA Finals, again versus the Jazz, where they would complete a three peat.

Twilight Years

In the 1999–2000 NBA season, the then-38-year-old power forward was signed by the Dallas Mavericks, meaning that Rodman returned to the place where he grew up. Dallas had won 10 of 13 before his arrival, but went just 4–9 until he was waived by the Mavericks. He played 12 games, received six technical fouls, was ejected twice, and served a one-game suspension. He alienated the franchise with his erratic behavior until he was waived again.

Post NBA Career

After his NBA career, Rodman took a long break from basketball and concentrated on his film career and on wrestling. He would then make a basketball return overseas, before retiring officially. On April 4, 2011, it was announced that Rodman would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Dennis Rodman’s NBA Resume

Career Avarages: 7.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.8 points, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks

Accolades

2x All Star

2x All NBA

2x DPOY

8x Defensive Team

2x DPOY

5x NBA Champion

Conclusion

This inspirational story has finally came to an end. This shows that even when things look down, there is always a chance it will change. They mindset especially payed off for Rodman, who defied all odds and made it to the NBA. I hope you enjoyed.