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Despite Shaquille O’Neal Later Calling Him Out for Not Showering and Excessive Partying, Dennis Rodman Held a Very Different Opinion of the 7 ft Lakers Legend

Published 10/01/2022, 4:45 PM EDT

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NBA legend Dennis Rodman is an enigma who did things in his own unapologetic way. Not many were a fan of his off-the-court antics, especially some of his teammates and team management. However, the fans loved him for what he was and his displays on the court. He was one of the best rebounders ever, despite being a power forward.

The Worm’ was also one of the best defenders who hustled every play. His versatility helped him defend almost any player on the court. Be it a quick point guard or a strong center, Rodman could guard them and even shut them down.

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Over the years, Rodman has had some fierce battles with all-time great Shaquille O’Neal. Not many could defend Shaq at his prime, but Rodman has done some excellent defending against him. While Shaq was the #1 pick, Rodman was a second-round pick by the Detroit Pistons. However, not many knew the Pistons have picked up a diamond in the rough.

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Under the tutelage of head coach Chuck Daly, Rodman developed into a superstar. He was often tasked with defending the stars of their opponents, and he would do that to perfection.

Dennis Rodman opened up about Shaquille O’Neal

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After winning two straight titles with the Pistons and three straight titles with the Chicago Bulls, Rodman joined O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998. Recently, Shaquille O’Neal was asked who was the worst teammate he has ever played with during one of his podcasts. And he revealed that Rodman was the worst teammate he has ever played with and commented on Rodman’s showering and partying habits.

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However, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner has a good opinion about Shaq. “He’s a good guy, you know. Shaquille became this poster boy for big guys. You know the big and tall poster boy. And you know he’s a big kid in a big man’s body and a good guy you know. I mean we had a dispute over the years but we get along pretty good,” Rodman said about O’Neal during an interview.

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Dennis Rodman was at the twilight of his career when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. It was his 13th season in the league. The Lakers were already a good team with a prime O’Neal, an up-and-coming Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, etc. But the experiment with Rodman did not work out. He only played 23 games for the Purple and Gold after the front office decided to cut ties with the veteran because of multiple off-the-court reasons.

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Written by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

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Bagavathi Eswaran is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been playing the game of basketball for more than 20 years now and has also been following the NBA for more than 10 years. After not being able to go pro, this former college player decided to join the IT industry.
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Edited by:

Pritam Priyedarshi