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Dejected Michael Jordan Once Sought Dennis Rodman’s Nose Ring to Bring Discipline Back

Published 12/28/2022, 2:57 PM EST

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Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls left an unprecedented impact on Basketball-their domination in the 90s was one of the most exciting times in the NBA. However, great players are a part of Championship teams and their extravagant and egotistical personalities are sometimes a lot to deal with. Dennis Rodman was such a personality and Michael Jordan had to go above and beyond to keep The Worm in check. Sometimes that even entailed dragging him to practice by his nose ring.

Although The Worm’s years in Chicago were insanely successful, the Bulls had to deal with a fair bit of indiscipline from his side. The director of MJ’s popular documentary The Last Dance narrated a similar story to signify the crazy times in Chicago.

Michael Jordan apparently dragged Rodman to practice by his nose ring

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The legendary stories of the 90s’ Bulls never cease to amaze fans. One of those stories was recounted in The Last Dance when Rodman took an extended vacation Vegas in the middle of a crucial series. In the absence of Scottie Pippen, during the 1998 NBA Finals run, Dennis Rodman was under a lot of pressure. To relieve the stress, The Worm asked head coach Phil Jackson for a 48-hour leave after Pippen’s return. Jackson granted the wish going against MJ’s advice, which cost the team later on.

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Meanwhile, Rodman decided to extend the staycation beyond 48hrs. Therefore, Jordan had to to take matters into his own hands. Most of the fans know how Jordan pulled Rodman back to practice. But The Last Dance director Jason Hehir decided to reveal some unknown facts and debunk some myths during an ESPN interview a couple of years ago.

He got back[to Chicago] and still felt like he was going to do a staycation for a little bit in Chicago,” Said Hehir. He further added, “He went with the athletic trainer and they banged his door, and Michael, I think he said off camera, ‘grabbed him by his nose ring and just like took him out’.

If anyone could do that to Rodman, it would only be His Airness. This signifies how dedicated the players were to winning as they didn’t take these incidents to heart. None of it mattered eventually as the Chicago Bulls went on to complete their second three-peat of the decade.

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Rodman’s antics and how the Bulls squad dealt with it.

This wasn’t the first time Rodman tried something crazy. He famously skipped practice to make his WCW debut in 1997. The Worm didn’t think through many of these things as he often decided to do things on a whim.

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But the squad knew his talent and wouldn’t take him for granted. Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan realized how precious he was to the team, so they catered to him as much as possible. Rodman understood their behavior as he gave his best on the pitch.

 

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Written by:

Shankha Shuvra Das

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Shankha Shuvra Das is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Economics and has extensive experience in freelance content creation, especially in the field of technology. Shankha's passion for covering the sport of basketball stems from his love for the NBA, which he has been following closely for several years now.
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Edited by:

Satagni Sikder