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“I Never Liked Basketball… I Loved Football”: 5x Champion With Seven Rebounding Titles Claimed His NBA Career Was a “Fluke”

Published 09/27/2022, 2:30 PM EDT

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The 5 time NBA champion and Bulls legend Dennis Rodman opened up about how he got acquainted with the game. ‘The Worm’ was on a show with Sean Kim where he described his NBA career as a fluke. Rodman had a stellar career in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, playing alongside Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. He played an essential role in the Bulls winning championships in their second three peat run.

Rodman was a tenacious rebounder which earned him the nickname the ‘Worm’. He was as relentless as one can be on the boards. At 6’7, Rodman knew how to attack the boards and win the rebound battle against the other giant bigs in the league.

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Dennis Rodman on how he chose basketball

On the show, Rodman described that he actually started playing basketball at the age of 19. He started going to the recreation center with his neighborhood friends and would play basketball there.

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“Basketball was more like a fluke, it just happened, just out of the blue,” said Rodman on the show. “I never liked basketball, like ever. I loved football.” When asked why Rodman described it as a fluke, he explained how he grew up playing football and was an avid fan of the game as well. Growing up in Texas, Rodman was a Dallas Cowboys fan.

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Sean Kim went on to ask Rodman how he discovered basketball for the first time. To this, Rodman credited his sister for it. Rodman told Sean that his sister was an ‘All-American’ as she played basketball in high school. Though he never played with them, Rodman would mostly be on the sidelines cheering his sister and the team.

The actual reason why ‘The Worm’ picked up basketball

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But the biggest push Rodman got was from his sister when she told him to pick up basketball. And even though Dennis wasn’t much too familiar with how to play the game, he started going to the gym with his sister and picked up the game and its fundamentals quite quickly.

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Dennis Rodman played in the NBA for 14 seasons, starting off with the Detroit Pistons. A second-round, 27th overall pick by the Pistons, Rodman won two back-to-back championships with Detroit. And then went on to win 3 straight championships with the Chicago Bulls. Rodman was a two-time all-star and two-time defensive player of the year during his playing days. 

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WATCH THIS STORY: 10 things Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman can’t live without

But can you imagine how the history books would have gone down if Dennis Rodman had never pursued playing basketball? How the Bulls dynasty would’ve been without the presence of Rodman?

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Written by:

Abhishek Dhariwal

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Abhishek Dhariwal is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He earned his bachelor's degree in English Honors from St. Xavier's College and his master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from AAFT School of Mass Communication and Journalism.
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