Top 50 NBA players from last 50 years: Dennis Rodman ranks No. 47
Editor's Note: As part of a new series for his podcast "What’s Wright with Nick Wright," FOX Sports commentator Nick Wright is ranking the 50 best NBA players of the last 50 years. The countdown continues today with player No. 47, Dennis Rodman.
Dennis Rodman’s career highlights:
- Two-time All-Star
- Two-time third-team All-NBA
- Two-time Defensive Player of the Year
- Seven-time all-defensive first-team, one-time second team
- Seven-time rebounding champion
Dennis Rodman played basketball differently than perhaps anyone in NBA history. Some of the game’s greatest teams are regarded as such because of it.
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Rodman is a five-time NBA champion, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, seven-time First Team All-Defense, and seven-time rebounds leader.
Residing somewhere between role player and star, Rodman focused almost exclusively on rebounding and defense while exhibiting the hustle of a player who wasn’t promised another game.
He initially wasn’t, entering the league at age 25 after stints at North Central Texas College and Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Halfway through his third year in the NBA, the Pistons traded eventual Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley and gave Rodman more minutes en route to winning back-to-back titles.
While he would gain fame for his on-court antics and off-court persona, his basketball résumé is marked by winning. He made the playoffs 11 times, the conference finals nine, and the NBA Finals six, earning five rings.
"The majority of his real heft and deservedness in this ranking is his participation on great teams and his contribution to those teams," Wright said. "He was a massive part of the mini-dynasty in Detroit. He was a massive part of the final three championships with the Bulls."
Rodman’s part just so happened to not involve scoring. Dedicated to setting screens and cleaning up the offensive boards, he averaged a mere 7.3 points per game. That’s by far the lowest figure for any Hall of Famer of the last 40 years.
At the same time, Rodman's 13.1 rebounds are the most by anyone who has retired in the last 35 years. In about two full seasons worth of playoff games — 169 to be exact — he averaged 9.9 rebounds.
The exceptional rebounding, of course, only represented a portion of his defensive impact. Rodman pestered a host of fellow Hall of Famers during his 14-year career, including Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone and even Shaquille O’Neal. At 6-foot-7, the wiry forward possessed enough speed, strength, length, agility and guile to defend all five positions.
All of it makes the Worm’s value tough to contextualize.
"I understand that he doesn’t have the traditional numbers," Wright said. "But he was such a dominant defensive force that I think there’s no question he deserves to be on this list. Of the last 50 years, the only two guys who are hands-down better defenders than Dennis Rodman are Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan. After that, Dennis is at least in the argument with everybody else."