Dennis Rodman entered the Basketball Hall of Fame Monday at the Final Four in Houston.

Bravo.

At only 6’6″, Rodman was the NBA’s most ferocious rebounder and defender from the late ’80s thru the ’90s.  He was a two-time defensive player of the year.  He was a seven-time rebounding champion. He was a seven-time All-Defensive First Team member.  He was a two-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA Third Team.

Oh yeah, Rodman helped teams win NBA titles (to the tune of five championships).

Yet what he is remembered most is for his antics on and off the court.  On the court he’s kicked a cameraman, had multiple verbal assaults on officials (then again, who in the NBA doesn’t do that?), racked up technicals, and had numerous ejections.

Rodman’s life off the court  was even more tumultuous.  During his playing days in Detroit, he once tried to blow his brains out in the parking lot outside The Palace of Auburn Hills.  He really was the first NBA baller to sport numerous tattoos and multiple piercings.  He dyed his hair all sorts of colors.

Rodman also had constant run-ins with the law.  In July 2000, Rodman pled guilty to drunken driving and driving without a valid license after an arrest in December 1999.  In 2008 he was was arrested following a domestic violence incident at a Los Angeles hotel.

And who could forget his best-selling auto-biography “Bad As I Wanna Be”?

Despite all of the personal life drama, I’m glad the voters for the Basketball Hall of Fame recognized Rodman for his production on the court.  We may never see another 6’6″ player dominate on the glass and the defensive end in the NBA for quite some time, if ever…

Categories: NBA, sports story