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Dennis Rodman: Ranking his role with each team he played for

By Nicolas Henkel

CHICAGO, UNITED STATES: Michael Jordan (L) pats Dennis Rodman (R), both of the Chicago Bulls, after Rodman was called for a technical foul 03 May during the second half of their NBA eastern conference semi-finals game against the Charlotte Hornets at the United Center in Chicago, IL. The Bulls won the game 83-70 to lead the series 1-0. AFP PHOTO/JEFF HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, UNITED STATES: Michael Jordan (L) pats Dennis Rodman (R), both of the Chicago Bulls, after Rodman was called for a technical foul 03 May during the second half of their NBA eastern conference semi-finals game against the Charlotte Hornets at the United Center in Chicago, IL. The Bulls won the game 83-70 to lead the series 1-0. AFP PHOTO/JEFF HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls (Photo by JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /

#2 Chicago Bulls

The one reoccurring thing about Michael Jordan’s success in the NBA was that the Pistons kept making him a better player. First it was the Bad Boys pushing him to another level and forcing him to become the unstoppable force that we grew to knew.

Then came along Dennis Rodman, who again, was a key member of the aforementioned team that Jordan for so many years couldn’t get passed. Now it was Rodman who was needed in order to help secure three more championships for the Bulls.

At the end of the day, his stint in Chicago is what cemented his legacy and ensured his place in the Hall of Fame. It didn’t matter what he was doing off the floor. It didn’t even matter if him, Jordan and Scottie Pippen got along. They just needed to win, and they did.

Related Story. Rodman's rings with the Pistons mean more than Chicago's. light

Over the course of the three seasons that he played with the Bulls, he averaged 15.3 rebounds per game. This was the furthest he’d ever been from needing to be a primary scorer, but he was efficient when he was called upon.

The grit, determination, and work ethic that he showed in his previous two stops with the Spurs and the Pistons was being matched by two of the most elite players on the planet in Jordan and Pippen.

When he initially arrived in Chicago, he was forced to apologize to Pippen for an incident that happened in the 1991 playoffs when they were once rivals. Rodman unnecessarily shoved him into the basket stanchion, drawing a flagrant foul.

When they eventually broke up after the 1998 season, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that those Bulls teams were some of the best to ever do it.

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