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Dennis Rodman – 1st ballot Hall of Famer? By John Nguyen
09.15.2009 - Updated on 09.15.2009
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The Worm has a place in the Hall waiting for him. It’s there. It’s obviously there. Since former Chicago Bulls have already gone in such as Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, and most likely, Scottie Pippen in 2010. Will Dennis Rodman join Pippen next year with Malone and Pippen? Rodman doesn’t get mentioned much among these names. Perhaps it was the numerous hair colors? Or hooking up with Madonna? Or dressing up in a wedding dress for a book signing? Or kicking a camera man in the balls? Or taking off the jersey to throw on fans? Head butting a referee was pretty bad wasn’t it? Whatever the case maybe, Rodman has been a defensive superstar ever since he stepped into the League of Extraordinary Ballplayers.
Forget what he did off the court. Forget them. They’re all distractions giving us a glimpse into Rodman the Person. Rodman the Athlete was a fanatical beast. Selected in the 2nd round with the 27th pick, The Worm was just a quiet hard hat worker. When Rick Mahorn left Detroit, Dennis took over to become the Defensive Player of the Year in 1989-1990. He won it again in 1990-1991. He finally unleashed his skill as a top notch rebounder. He didn’t stop that action from 1990 throughout until 2000. He usually averaged double digits in crashing the boards.
And the man is only 6’8”. Usually those kinds of averages are reserved for trees 6-10 and over. He also runs like a deer.
People forget that Rodman can guard any position. He’s that versatile of a defender. Not even Ben Wallace, Alonzo Mourning, or Dikembe Mutombo can do that. The Worm can guard the paint as well as the perimeter! None of those 3 great defenders mentioned contain the frantic energy that Rodman has. He can play mind games – irritating, annoying, frustrating. He just knows how to get under someone’s skin. Looking at his numbers again, he averaged more than 10 rebounds per game in 10 consecutive seasons. He also averaged an insane of amount of offensive rebounds proving that Rodman is the master of the tip drill. Wow! Look at that! He almost averaged 19 rebounds in 1991-1992. Sometimes when watching him rebound brick after brick, how can someone that small, compared to centers and power forwards, grab so many boards for that long? He tied a Finals record with 11 offensive rebounds in a game. TWICE! That stuff is mind boggling.
For me, he is a first ballot Hall of Famer and should be in next year with Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen. The man has 5 championship rings to go along with the impressive resume. It would be disgusting to see a debate over this. That would be cool to see those guys with Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan, and some Utah players and Bulls players from that time in one building again. It’s just a whole funky reunion. Wouldn’t it be cool if Dennis Rodman has some kind of awkward speech just like Michael Jordan had? Would they even let him in the building if he arrived in a wedding dress? Point blank, he’s as bad as he wanted to be. I regard The Worm as one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen.
[image:http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensports/3321384868/] |
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Posted by
Prime
on 10.8.2009 | HOF missed one great player and thats RODMAN.....he’s the greatest player . | Posted by
HSWORM
on 09.19.2009 | if dennis doesn’t do in they should close the Hall . | Posted by
40inchleaper
on 09.18.2009 | yeah Rodman deserves to become a HOF . | Posted by
gm 4 hire
on 09.17.2009 | He should be there in a couple years! I think this is a no brainer! He was a great dynamic defensive player a absolute animal on the boards and a wonderful role player! Get him in there!! . | Posted by
Snika
on 09.17.2009 | He was pretty awesome, I really liked his style of play... and truthfully he wasn’t a good b-ball talent, he just wanted to be the best. And in his categories... he was . | Posted by
ronh
on 09.16.2009 | No question dennis should get in. He is one of the best defensive players and rebounders ever. That is how he got jordan three more rings. . | Posted by
rzurzel
on 09.16.2009 | Dennis should be inducted no doubt. His off court activity is his personal s#!t, first of all he didn’t do anything bad, didn’t harm nobody etc and second, did any of his behavior etc stop him from being one of the greatest players? He had a contract that obligated him to make his team play better, not to be the most liked or popular human in the world. Dennis was the best period. . |
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