Most athletic Pistons of all time: Does Ausar Thompson make the cut?

Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman will be remembered for a lot of things, all of the controversy, his many colored hairstyles, dating Madonna, becoming BFF with North Korean dictators, you know, normal stuff.

But when you go back to Rodman’s days on the Pistons, you’ll see an athletic freak of nature. Forget about team history, Rodman is one of the most athletic NBA players in league history.

I’ve never seen a player who could get up as fast as Rodman, as he was on his second jump before the opposition even came down from their first. He had the quickness and strength to guard any position and would often go from defending Shaq to locking up the point guard.

Some of his most athletic plays were him diving for loose balls, when he would often get his entire body parallel to the ground, as you can see in this first highlight.

He would often come from nowhere to block shots, chase down offensive players on the fast break or just leap over the first three rows of the crowd going after a loose ball.

Rodman was not a skilled player, as his shot was broken and he wasn’t going to dribble much, but he made up for it with sheer athleticism and will, which is one of the reasons he was my all-time favorite player to watch from that era.