Dennis Rodman is considered one of professional basketball's all-time great rebounders. He helped lead the Detroit Pistons and later the Chicago Bulls to multiple NBA titles.

Who Is Dennis Rodman? Born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1961, Dennis Rodman was selected in the second round of the 1986 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He on to become one of the league's dominant rebounders, leading the Pistons and later the Chicago Bulls to multiple championships, before earning induction into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2011. Rodman also earned attention for his reality show appearances, as well as his unusual friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Early Life Dennis Keith Rodman was born on May 13, 1961, in Trenton, New Jersey. Rodman was the product of an unstable household. Early in his life, his father, Philander, abandoned his wife, Shirley, and his young family, which included Rodman and his two young sisters. After Philander left, Rodman's mother moved the family to Dallas, where she struggled to keep her children fed and clothed by taking almost any odd job that came her way. Curiously, Rodman didn't at first appear to be all that athletic or outward going. Short for most of high school, at just 5 feet, 6 inches, he was cut from the school football team and later quit the basketball team because he wasn't getting enough playing time. After graduating high school in 1979, Rodman's future appeared uncertain. He found work where he could, including a janitor position at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. In his off-time, though, he could be found at local basketball courts, where the now 6-foot, 7-inch player was a force. Through a family friend, Rodman's exploits soon caught the attention of the coaches at Cooke County Junior College in Gainesville, Texas, who offered Rodman the chance to attend the school. He accepted and proved to be a dominant player for the program. However, Rodman couldn't keep up with the schoolwork and, after a year, he flunked out. Still, Rodman's play hadn't gone unnoticed, and he was soon invited to enroll at Southeastern Oklahoma State. His on-the-court tenacity overwhelmed opponents, and during his three years at the school he averaged close to 26 points and 16 rebounds per game. In the 1986 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons made the athletic and gangly 25-year-old Rodman a second-round pick.

NBA Success The marriage between the Pistons and Rodman was, for a number of years, a great one. Rodman's arrival helped usher in a new era in Pistons basketball. Led by head coach Chuck Daly, whom Rodman came to adore, and point guard Isiah Thomas, Detroit became one of the elite teams in the NBA. The club won the championship in 1989 and again in 1990. Rodman was a big reason why. A fierce defender and tenacious rebounder, Rodman was selected to the 1990 NBA All-Star team and tapped as Defensive Player of the Year that same season. In 1992, he won the first of seven consecutive rebounding crowns. In 1993, following the retirement of Daly, Rodman's relationship with the Pistons organization soured and he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. Prior to the 1995-96 season, Rodman was traded again, this time to the Chicago Bulls, where he'd go on to team up with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen to win three consecutive NBA titles. Following his tenure in Chicago, Rodman signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for a brief run late in the 1999 season. He concluded his playing career the following year with the Dallas Mavericks. In all, Rodman would finish with five NBA championships, two All-Star appearances, and twice be named the league's top defensive player. In 2011, he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

A Troubled Life For all his success, however, trouble has never been all that far from Rodman's life. The same intensity Rodman brought to the court has at times thrown his non-basketball life off-kilter. In February 1993, Rodman was found asleep in a truck in a parking lot with a loaded gun, prompting worries that Rodman was suicidal. He denied that was the case. Still, the sense that Rodman was unstable was something he seemed to embrace as part of his on-court persona. He racked up league fines for his physical play and, in 1997, paid a cameraman $200,000 to settle charges that Rodman had intentionally kicked him in the groin while going after a loose ball. He regularly dyed his hair and relished showcasing his off-court romances with celebrities like Madonna and Carmen Electra. Rodman's life proved no less turbulent after he retired from basketball. In April 2008, he was arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly hitting his wife at the time, at a hotel. Rodman pleaded no contest and a judge ordered him to complete 45 days of community service. In June 2010, it was revealed that Rodman owed more than $300,000 in child support.