After playing 14 seasons in the league for five different teams, NBA legend Dennis Rodman decided to call it quits. He retired from the NBA after the 1999-00 season. In the last couple of seasons, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers but was seriously considering making a potential return to the NBA in 2003. And while was preparing for his return debut, Rodman issued an open challenge during that time. 

Rodman was 42 years old at the time when he was looking to return to the NBA. And though ‘The Worm’ was arguably beyond his prime, there might have been some NBA teams who still would’ve liked to have him on their roster.

Dennis Rodman made a bold statement

Be it just for veteran locker room presence or for his rebounding skills, Rodman probably would’ve managed to find a spot for himself in one of the 30 NBA teams in the league. 

So, during an interview in 2003, Rodman was talking to a reporter who asked him what he was doing to stay in basketball shape. And that is when Rodman mentioned that he managed to lose 18 pounds of weight in the last four months.

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Dennis Rodman’s Love for Motorcycles Cost Him a Dream Return to the NBA in 2003

During the interview, Rodman said, “If I average 13, 14 rebounds a game, I think a lot of people should kiss my a** because 40-year-old guys shouldn’t be doing that.” 

He also mentioned prior to that statement that he was trying to focus on getting his mind right mentally. Rodman said he was doing that to prepare himself to go down the rough and ragged road of a gruesome NBA schedule. 

Even a former teammate from his Detriot Pistons era, Bill Laimbeer chimed in. Laimbeer said, “Well, I think Dennis could contribute even today at his advanced age. He’s always been a great athlete.”

Why Rodman could not return to the NBA

However, there was one major reason that prevented Dennis Rodman from making a comeback in the NBA. The five-time NBA champion had an undying love for motorcycles. And that ended up costing him a return to the league.

In October 2003, Rodman ended up getting into a motorcycle accident in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rodman tried to pop a wheelie in a parking lot on a motorcycle owned by a club manager in Vegas.

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He then crashed into a street pole which landed him in the hospital with an injury to his shin. Rodman ended up getting 20 stitches and also his probable return to the league. 

How do you think Rodman would have fared in the NBA had he made a return to the league in 2003? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.