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“Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal Were So Envious of Me”: Michael Jordan’s Iconic Bulls Teammate Once Got Brutally Honest on His Lakers Stint

Published 08/11/2022, 11:30 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Dennis Rodman is one of the most vivid personalities to have graced an NBA court. Despite all the off-court distractions in his life, Rodman was an excellent basketball player and his 5 rings signify that. He shared the court with some of the greatest players in the history of the game, like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille, O’Neal, Isiah Thomas, and others.

Rodman became a household name after his stint with the Chicago Bulls. He joined the Los Angeles Lakers after three successive championships with the Bulls. Although he was in LA only for a few months, there were a lot of takeaways from his stay in the city of angels.

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The Los Angeles Lakers were a team on the rise with superstars Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Rodman’s signing was expected to catapult them to a championship. However, things didn’t pan out that way and Rodman even mentioned how the superstars in Los Angeles were jealous of him.

Kobe and Shaq were so envious of me because the Lakers catered to me so much,” Rodman said. He continued, “Coming into the game, going out after the game, having parties, doing this, doing that, hotel this…stuff like that.” One of the major reasons for his success with both the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons was that they allowed him to be himself.

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He felt he wasn’t allowed to do that with the Lakers. He said, “they couldn’t stand me on that damn team, to be honest with you“. Rodman only played 23 games for the Lakers. While he was at the twilight of his career, the Lakers were just getting started.

Dennis Rodman was most successful while playing with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls

Rodman was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1986 and went on to spend seven years in the motor city. He was a huge part of the infamous ‘Bad Boys‘ Pistons team that went on to win two championships. After a couple of years in San Antonio, Rodman joined the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls were hoping to get back to the top of the mountain after two years without Michael Jordan. While Rodman’s signing was expected to be good, it proved to be a masterstroke as the Bulls went on to win three championships in a row.

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Rodman was instrumental in their victories as he led the league in rebounding every year he was in Chicago. In fact, Rodman was the rebounding leader for 7 consecutive years before joining the Lakers in 1999.

WATCH THIS STORY: Each time Bad Boys Pistons bullied and beat up Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls on court

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From his approach to the game to his dressing sense, Rodman was truly a fascinating entity. There hasn’t been any personality like Rodman in basketball.

What do you think about Rodman’s remarks about his stint in LA? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Pragya Vashisth

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Pragya is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Having completed Masters in Sports Management from the International Institute of Sports Management, Mumbai, he has been a passionate fan of the NBA since 2010. Pragya is a massive supporter of LeBron James and just wants to enjoy the twilight years of his Hall of Fame career.
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Edited by:

Pritam Priyedarshi