Dennis Rodman joined Los Angeles Lakers after Shaquille O’Neal wanted ‘thuggish’ forward but it didn’t end well
Dennis Rodman was one of the more colourful characters to play in the NBA with plenty of hilarious, bizarre and astonishing stories over his illustrious career.
Rodman won five NBA titles and was part of the famed Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls teams in the 1980s and 1990s.
One of the last teams he played for in the NBA was the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1998/99 season and it was not exactly a happy time.
The Lakers boasted an incredible young team with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, but had not won a championship since 1991.
So the idea was to get someone in who might be able to get them over them line, someone who can do the dirty work.
"We're cool, but I'd still like to get that thuggish forward," O'Neal said, alluding to Rodman.
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However, the veteran star did not gel well with the young Lakers team. He did not enjoy the atmosphere in the locker room and said Kobe and Shaq were jealous of him.
"I could deal with the fame," Rodman said in an interview with . "I could deal with the glamour, I could deal with the glory, and I could deal with the money, and stuff like that, but I just couldn’t deal with the fact that you had a bunch of young guys on that team was sitting there b****ing, complaining, all the damn time."
In a separate interview on Shaq and Kobe, Rodman said: “It was hard because I knew the fact that Kobe and Shaq wouldn’t like me. I know because I saw [former majority Lakers owner] Jerry Buss; he loved me. I used to date his daughter.
“So I was dating his daughter at that time. We dated for six months, and I know Kobe and Shaq didn’t like me because all the attention became Dennis.”
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Rodman’s time at the Lakers was short lived, playing just 23 games, and for all his complaints about his teammates there was plenty of fault at his door.
His passion for the game had seemingly gone and O’Neal gave an insight into what he was like.
Shaq said: “Worst teammate? Dennis Rodman. He was a great player, but he made it hard. Like when you try to corral the guys together and the people above you [are] letting this one guy do whatever he wants.
“So we had to be there an hour before the game. He'd come in fifteen minutes before the game eating chicken and rice. While the coaches are talking, he would jump in the shower. Cold shower. Come and give you 15-20 rebounds."
Rodman himself at the time of his release by the Lakers - just seven weeks after signing him - hit back at the suggestion he had no dedication to the game.
He said: "A lot of people will criticise my attitude and my dedication to the game of basketball, but, you know, it doesn't surprise me," he said. "I didn't really miss practices. Today, I didn't miss practice.
“Today, [coach Kurt Rambis] asked me, 'Do you need treatment?' I was there 10 minutes early before practice, and he told me to take the day off and all of a sudden I'm like, great, you know?
"I wanted to come here and win and play here. It didn't turn out that way. I don't know what I'm going to do right know. It's one of those deals. If they want to make me the fall guy, I will be the fall guy. I don't expect anything else."
Rodman did apologise to Lakers fans, though, and said: "I hope that they don't look at me as a bad individual. I hope I'm still loved by people here in the state of California."
The Lakers ended up being better without Rodman as they went on to win the NBA title in the next three seasons.