Newly inducted member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Dennis Rodman was one of the league’s most ferocious rebounders, pulling down 18+ RPG in consecutive seasons. His accomplishments include five NBA titles, and his antics include wearing a wedding dress to promote his book and dying his hair more often than he changed teams. Last, Rodman will always be remembered for his fights and altercations. Let’s take a look at some of Rodman’s more memorable altercations:
7. Rodman v Frank Brickowski
Here, Rodman baits Brickowski into a holding foul in game 3 of the NBA Finals in 1996, which the Bulls won 4-2.
6. Rodman v Shaquille O’Neal
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen prevented this potentially volatile fight.
5. Rodman on The Detroit Pistons, “The Bad Boys”
Certainly, Rodman will always be remembered as a fixture of those tough, physical Detroit Pistons teams that won back-to-back NBA titles. Since it can be hard to pick a specific instance from those years, this reflects back on all of them.
4. Rodman v Kurt Thomas
Even though this is Thomas basically letting out some built-up frustration on Rodman, Thomas rips Rodman’s jersey and throws him around a little bit.
3. Rodman v Karl Malone
Rodman and Malone battled hard against each other in the 1998 NBA Finals, not long before they would meet in the wrestling ring.
2. Rodman v ‘The Camera Guy’
This was yet another infamous Rodman moment, one for which he paid about $200,000 out of court.
1. Head Butting the Ref
This was Rodman’s most infamous moment I thought. I guess you could say that Rodman was a pioneer in excessive player-official confrontations.
Rob S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition living in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. De France has played, coached, and officiated competitive high school basketball in California for many years. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
