NBA.com: Dennis Rodman Bio

Dennis Rodman has developed from a janitor who had never played organized basketball into arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history and one of the most recognized athletes in the world. Enigmatic and individualistic, Rodman has caught the public eye for his ever-changing hair color, tattoos and unorthodox lifestyle. Rodman's achievements on the court are indisputable. A two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a member of two championship Pistons teams in Detroit and three title-winning Bulls teams in Chicago, he has led the league in rebounding for seven consecutive years despite standing only 6-8--Wilt Chamberlain is the only player to win more rebounding titles, 11. Rodman is one of the few players in basketball who can change the course of a game without taking a shot. Rodman, whose two sisters were All-American basketball players, didn't play high school basketball and stood only 5-11 when he graduated. At age 20 he was working the graveyard shift at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport when he decided, after having grown eight inches since high school, that he would pursue basketball. He enrolled in Cooke County Junior College in Texas and later transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State. In three seasons there, 1983-84 through 1985-86, he averaged 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds, led the NAIA in rebounding twice and registered a .637 field goal percentage. Still relatively obscure, Rodman lasted into the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft before being selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 27th overall pick. After an unremarkable rookie season, Rodman began making his presence felt. On the 1987-88 Pistons he averaged a career-best 11.6 points along with 8.7 rebounds. The team lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Detroit won the NBA Championship the next two seasons, and Rodman was a prime reason for the club's success. The sixth man in 1988-89 on a team known for its physical play, he led the NBA in field goal percentage at .595, averaged 9.4 rebounds, and was runner-up for both the Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Sixth Man Award. In the Pistons' second title year he earned NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors, made the All-Star Team, and averaged 9.7 rebounds. With Rodman as a starter for the final 43 games of the season, Detroit went 39-4. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year for a second consecutive season in 1990-91, Rodman finished second in the NBA in rebounding at 12.5 boards per game. Up to that point Rodman had established himself as an excellent rebounder, but in 1991-92 he broke the mold and became a legend. Playing more than 40 minutes per game, Rodman averaged 18.7 rebounds, the highest mark since Wilt Chamberlain had averaged 19.2 boards 20 years earlier. Rodman won the rebounding crown again in 1992-93 with 18.3 caroms per game, becoming the first forward ever to win back-to-back rebounding titles. Prior to the 1993-94 season the Pistons traded Rodman to the San Antonio Spurs for Sean Elliott. Rodman continued his board work in San Antonio, leading the league in rebounding for two more seasons. Despite continued discipline problems, he tranformed the Spurs from a good team into a title contender; San Antonio posted the NBA's best record and advanced to the Conference Finals in 1994-95. The Bulls gambled by acquiring the controversial Rodman prior to the 1995-96 season, and the gamble paid off handsomely. He led the league in rebounding for the next three years, and while he was more flamboyant than ever, it didn't seem to hurt Chicago's chemistry as the Bulls charged to 72, 69 and 62 victories and three championships. He appeared in 23 games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998-99 and 12 games with the Dallas Mavericks in 1999-2000, but was waived by both clubs despite averaging in double figures in rebounds for both teams.

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON
Waived by the Mavericks on 3/8 Snared 19 boards in a 110-96 loss at Phoenix on 3/4 Totaled 21 rebounds in a 103-102 loss to New Jersey on 3/2 Corralled 18 rebounds in a 94-93 loss in Indiana on 2/21 Grabbed 13 rebounds in his first game as a Maverick, in a 117-106 loss to Seattle on 2/9 Signed as a free agent by the Dallas Mavericks on 2/3

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Waived by the Lakers on 4/15 Grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, adding 3 assists and 3 points, in a 117-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets on 4/5 Grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, notched 5 assists and added 3 points in a 116-98 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 3/29 Logged a game-high 20 rebounds and added 4 points in a 103-99 victory over the L.A. Clippers on 3/9 Grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, scored 7 points (3-5 FG) and added 3 assists in a 97-91 win over the Phoenix Suns on 3/1 Made his Lakers debut, totaling team-highs of 11 rebounds and 6 assists, in a 99-83 victory over the L.A. Clippers on 2/26 Signed as a free agent by the L.A. Lakers on 2/23

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
Grabbed a game-high 20 rebounds, adding 4 points and 4 assists, in a 103-85 victory over the Washington Wizards on 4/7 Posted 7 points, a game-high 18 rebounds and 5 assists in a 106-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons on 3/31 Scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 111-88 victory over the Boston Celtics on 3/23 Totaled 6 points and a game-high 20 rebounds in a 102-89 victory over the New York Knicks on 3/8 Registered 9 points, 6 assists and a game-high 18 rebounds in a 109-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings on 2/28 Recorded a game-high 22 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards, and 7 points in an 87-80 win over the Golden State Warriors on 1/30 Grabbed a game-high 22 rebounds and added 6 assists in a 103-85 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 1/27 Scored 9 points and grabbed a game-high 20 rebounds in a 90-79 victory over the Boston Celtics on 1/6 Posted 8 points (4-5 FG), a game-high 18 rebounds and 5 assists in a 105-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on 1/3 Totaled 8 points and a game-high 21 rebounds in a 114-100 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on 1/2 Registered 11 points and 8 assists and a game-high 27 rebounds in a 111-105 win over the Dallas Mavericks on 12/29 Grabbed a season-high 29 rebounds, adding 6 points and 5 assists, in a 97-90 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on 12/27 Recorded 25 rebounds, including 15 offensive boards, 9 points and 4 assists in a 94-89 win over the L.A. Clippers on 12/23 Posted a game-high 24 rebounds, adding 8 points and 5 assists, in a 100-92 victory over the New Jersey Nets on 12/20 Totaled 8 points (3-3 FG), a game-high 17 rebounds and 3 assists in a 97-87 victory over the Boston Celtics on 12/3 Grabbed a team-high 22 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, in an 87-83 double-overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs on 11/3

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
Rodman again led the league in rebounding, this time at 16.1 per game, and he posted 11 double-doubles to help the Bulls to 69 victories. He grabbed double-figure rebounds in 54 of the 55 games he played, all except for a game in Denver on Nov. 21 in which he had seven rebounds. He had 20 or more rebounds nine times, with a season-high 26 rebounds in a 116-101 win at Milwaukee on Jan. 16. Rodman missed a total of 27 games due to injuries or suspensions. He sat out the final 13 games of the regular season due to a sprained ligament in his left knee, and was suspended for two games Dec. 11-13, for 11 games (and fined $25,000) Jan. 17-Feb. 5 and for one game (and fined $7,500) March 5. Rodman was relatively ineffective in the playoffs, partially because of the knee injury and partially because of limited playing time because he was constantly drawing technical fouls in the early rounds. Rodman appeared in all 19 games, starting 14, and averaged a team-high 8.4 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game (seven fewer mpg than in the regular season). He did grab 19 rebounds in the opener of the Conference Finals against Miami and a team-high 11 rebounds in the title-clinching 90-86 win in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against Utah.

1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
The Bulls' gamble in trading for Rodman paid off big-time as he led the league in rebounding for a fifth consecutive time with 14.9 rebounds per game. Moses Malone (1981-85) is the only other player to lead the league five times in a row, and only Wilt Chamberlain (10) and Malone (six) have won the rebounding crown more often than Rodman. Chamberlain, representing the Warriors, 76ers and Lakers, is the only other player to lead the league in rebounding for three different clubs, since Rodman won the title twice each while with Detroit and San Antonio. Rodman also contributed 5.5 points and 2.5 assists in 32.6 minutes per game, but his primary responsibilities were rebounding and defense. He led the Bulls in rebounding in 59 of the 64 games he played, grabbing 20 or more rebounds 11 times including a season-high 24 against Minnesota on Feb. 21. Rodman, who was voted to the All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career, posted his first triple-double against Philadelphia on Jan. 16 when he had 10 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists. He suffered a strained left calf in early November, sat out a pair of games and then missed 10 more after being placed on the injured list. He also served a six-game suspension from March 18-30 after being ejected from a game at New Jersey on March 16. Rodman started 15 playoff games and came off the bench for the three games of the first round series against Miami, leading all players in postseason with 13.7 rebounds per game and also contributing 7.5 points per game. He twice tied Elvin Hayes' NBA Finals record of 11 offensive rebounds in one game, doing it in Games 2 and 6 against Seattle.

1994-1995 REGULAR SEASON
The 1994-95 season was another eventful one for Rodman. When the campaign opened, Rodman was not on the court for the San Antonio Spurs. He was suspended for the first three games of the season, took a leave of absence on November 11, and was suspended again on December 7. He finally returned on December 10 after having missed 19 games. Once back, he immediately launched a rebounding juggernaut. In his first start of the season, against the Chicago Bulls on January 24, he ripped away 23 boards in 44 minutes to go along with 12 points. On February 21 he gathered an NBA season-high 30 rebounds against the Houston Rockets. The next night he collected 24 caroms against the Phoenix Suns. Rodman's inspired play sparked the club to an 11-2 mark in February and a 14-2 record in March. He quickly took his place atop the NBA rebounding charts, passing the Denver Nuggets' Dikembe Mutombo once he had gathered enough boards to qualify. Rodman suffered a setback in March when he separated his shoulder in a motorcycle accident. He went on the injured list on March 20 and missed 14 games. He came back in April and managed to secure 823 boards for the season, just above the minimum of 800 needed to qualify for the league lead. His average of 16.8 rebounds per game easily outpaced Mutombo's second-place mark of 12.5. The rebounding title was Rodman's fourth in a row. In addition, he averaged 7.1 points and 2.0 assists and posted a .571 field-goal percentage. With the league's best rebounder in Rodman and the NBA's Most Valuable Player in David Robinson, the Spurs finished with the NBA's best record at 62-20. They whipped Denver in the first round, got past the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, but then came up short against the Houston Rockets in the conference finals. Rodman continued to gather attention in the postseason. While on the bench in one playoff game, he took his shoes off and sat on the floor, irking Head Coach Bob Hill, who kept Rodman out of a game against the Lakers. In the playoffs Rodman averaged 8.9 points and 14.8 rebounds and had a .542 field-goal percentage.

1993-1994 REGULAR SEASON
Prior to the 1993-94 season the Detroit Pistons traded Rodman and Isaiah Morris to the San Antonio Spurs for Sean Elliott and David Wood. Rodman had been clearly unhappy in Detroit, and the move gave him a new lease on life. It also gave the Spurs the league's best rebounder, and it gave David Robinson an opportunity to spend more time on the perimeter, where his all-around talents were too much for opposing centers to handle. Rodman led the NBA in rebounding (17.3 rpg) for the third consecutive season. His value in San Antonio could be measured by the fact that the Spurs went from worst to first in offensive rebounding percentage, leading the NBA at .356, or by the fact that Robinson led the league in scoring with a career-high 29.8 points per game. Either way, Rodman and Robinson made history: they became the first teammates ever to led the league in both scoring and rebounding in the same season. One of the NBA's most eccentric personalities, Rodman sported a variety of hair colors throughout the year. The Spurs had their best success (35-14) when he was all blond. San Antonio also went 3-5 when his hair was red, 9-2 when it was purple, 3-2 when it was blue, and 3-4 when he wore a "Demolition Man" look. Through it all, Rodman continued to rebound better than any other NBA player. His rebounding average was more than four boards better than his closest competitor, the Orlando Magic's Shaquille O'Neal (13.2 rpg). Rodman hauled in at least 20 rebounds in 27 games, and he established a team record and an NBA season high with 32 boards on January 22 against the Dallas Mavericks. Never one to assert himself on offense, Rodman scored just 4.7 points per game, although he posted a .534 field-goal percentage. Rodman's arrival transformed the Spurs into a rugged defensive unit. San Antonio ranked second only to the New York Knicks in that category, yielding only 94.8 points per game. Rodman was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team at season's end. Yet despite all of Rodman's contributions, which helped the Spurs to a 55-27 regular-season record, it was San Antonio's offensive woes that led to the team's early postseason demise. The Spurs scored only 88.0 points per game in a first-round series loss to the Utah Jazz.

1992-1993 REGULAR SEASON
A testament to Rodman's remarkable rebounding prowess was that he missed 20 games of the 1992-93 season and still led the NBA in total rebounds, with 1,132. No player even came close to his 18.3 rebounding average, tops in the league for a second straight season. Rodman entered the season having played 466 consecutive games. That string ended at 470, as Rodman struggled with injuries and personal problems throughout the year. He had a strong relationship with former Pistons Coach Chuck Daly, and after Daly resigned at the end of the 1991-92 season Rodman became clearly unhappy in Detroit. He began a pattern of erratic off-court behavior that would lead to his being traded after the season. When he did play, Rodman was still one of the hardest-working players in the league, averaging 38.9 minutes per game. He grabbed more than 20 rebounds in 28 games and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team at season's end.

1991-1992 REGULAR SEASON
Rodman evolved in 1991-92 from a rebounding talent to a rebounding genius. Standing only 6-foot-8, he led the NBA with a remarkable average of 18.7 boards per game-the highest mark in the league in 20 years. Indeed, the last man to better the mark was Wilt Chamberlain, who had a 19.2 average in 1971-72. In the midst of his incredible season, Rodman made the second All-Star appearance of his career. The sixth-year forward played in all 82 games and led Detroit in rebounding 79 times. He had 39 games of 20 or more rebounds, including a career-high 34 boards against the Indiana Pacers on March 4. Despite Rodman's focus on cleaning the glass, he also managed 9.8 points per game, the second-best scoring average of his career. At season's end, Rodman won the IBM Award for all-around contributions to his team's success. He was also named to the All-NBA Third Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

1990-1991 REGULAR SEASON
Rodman gave the league a glimpse of his outstanding rebounding talents when he averaged 12.5 boards from the small forward position in 1990-91. He had also become Detroit's designated defensive stopper, proving he could shut down any opposing player, from point guard to center. At season's end, Rodman earned his second straight Defensive Player of the Year Award. Rodman led the NBA in offensive rebounds, with 361, and ranked second in the league in overall rebounding behind future teammate David Robinson (13.0 rpg). Still harboring an occasional inclination to score, Rodman averaged 8.2 points for the season and poured in a career-high 34 against the Denver Nuggets on January 2. The Pistons' chase for a third straight NBA crown ended in the Eastern Conference Finals, which Detroit lost to the Chicago Bulls in four games.

1989-1990 REGULAR SEASON
Rodman became a full-time starter for the final 43 games of the season, and during that stretch the Pistons posted a remarkable 39-4 record. Detroit then used that finish as a springboard to its second consecutive NBA Championship. Rodman began to earn recognition in 1989-90 for his defense and rebounding skills, which were unparalleled in the league. He was selected to play in his first NBA All-Star Game, and at season's end he was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 8.8 points and 9.7 rebounds during the regular season, shooting .581 from the field and .654 from the free-throw line. During the Pistons' second championship run, Rodman appeared in all 19 playoff games and averaged 6.6 points and 8.5 rebounds.

1988-1989 REGULAR SEASON
Rodman asserted himself during the 1988-89 season, logging 26.9 minutes per game while averaging 9.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in a sixth-man role. He also shot better than any NBA player, leading the league in field-goal percentage, at .595. More importantly, Rodman's blue-collar style proved essential to a Pistons powerhouse that won the franchise's first NBA title. Rodman was the only NBA non-starter to grab more than 300 offensive rebounds for the season. He was named for the first time to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and finished runner-up for both the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Sixth Man Awards. Always a defensive force, Rodman could occasionally pile up the offensive numbers as well. He sparkled in a 32-point, 21-rebound performance against the Golden State Warriors on February 18. Rodman played a significant role in the playoffs. He averaged 5.8 points and 10.0 rebounds in the postseason as the Pistons advanced to the NBA Finals and then swept the Los Angeles Lakers in four games.

1987-1988 REGULAR SEASON
Rodman's second NBA season still stands as his most productive offensively, but it was only a stage in the evolution of a unique player who would become the league's best rebounder three seasons later. He averaged 11.6 points and 8.7 rebounds in 82 appearances, shooting .561 from the floor. With 29 games left in the season Coach Chuck Daly replaced Adrian Dantley with Rodman in the Pistons' starting lineup, and the team proceeded to go 20-4 in Rodman's first 24 starts. Rodman's top game was a 30-point, 18-rebound effort against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 24. The second-year forward played in all 23 postseason games, as Detroit advanced to the NBA Finals before losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Rodman averaged 7.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in the playoffs.

1986-1987 REGULAR SEASON
Dennis Rodman never played high school basketball, which is understandable considering that he stood only 5-foot-11 at the time. But after graduating he grew 8 inches, and he decided at age 20 that he wanted to play college basketball. He enrolled at Cooke County Junior College in Gainesville, Texas, then played three seasons at Southeastern Oklahoma State, an NAIA school. In his first-ever collegiate game at Cooke County, Rodman totaled 24 points and 19 rebounds-an indicator of things to come. He was a First-Team NAIA All-American in each of his three seasons at Southeastern Oklahoma State, leading all NAIA players in rebounding as a junior (15.9 rpg) and as a senior (17.8). Rodman remained relatively unknown compared to players at big-time college programs. He lasted into the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft, when the Detroit Pistons selected him with the 27th overall pick. Rodman's first season in the NBA offered little hint of how dominating he would become as a defender and rebounder. He appeared in 77 games for the Pistons but played only 15.0 minutes per game, averaging 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. His total of 1,155 minutes marked the only time in his career he would not play at least 2,000. Rodman came within a game of playing in the NBA Finals as a rookie, but the Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.