Dennis Rodman carved out a legendary NBA career for himself. He was a defensive cornerstone for his teams owing to his unwavering tenacity and ability to rack up rebounds at an incredible rate. The Worm was all about his business and made it a point in every ballgame to excel at his role. He didn’t contribute much in terms of scoring, but his rebounding and energy made him a dominant force on the floor.

His uniqueness, though, escaped the confines of the basketball court. That is, he was as eccentric of a character off the court as he was on it. The Chicago Bulls legend was brimming with life and gave way to escapades that seemed too bizarre to be believed. He was a controversial yet colorful personality who oozed individuality.

However, growing up, this wasn’t the case. Rodman’s life went beyond the challenges daily life throws one’s way. Growing up without a father was, in fact, the root of all of his hardships.

The NBA legend’s father, Philander Rodman, left him, his sisters, and his mother when he was only three years old. It was arguably one of the roughest times for Rodman’s family. They were struggling for their life to put food on the table. However, this did not prevent Rodman from writing his own success story, as basketball served as a source of light in his otherwise gloomy life at the time.

Years after becoming a superstar in the league, the player met his father for the first time. Rodman went on to make intriguing revelations about their first meeting while expressing what it was like to see him.

Dennis Rodman described his first meeting with his father

Talking on ‘NBA on ESPN’, Dennis Rodman rolled back the tape and described his first meeting with his father. He claimed that the first time he met his father was before a Chicago Bulls game against the Utah Jazz in 1997.

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Rodman revealed he was running late for practice when a man ran up to his truck and claimed to be his father. He said that he went ahead and brushed him off before proceeding to his practice. The Hall of Famer claimed that he thought it was just another fan.

As the ballgame tipped off, during one of the timeouts, Rodman claimed that one of the guys told him that a man in the stands was claiming to be his father. He was signing autographs and doing interviews; however, the Bulls legend ignored it and still thought it was a big joke.

Rodman was then questioned how he felt about the fact that someone who wasn’t there for him is now signing autographs after he’s become a successful athlete.

“I think when you get in-depth with his story, he has 16 wives and like 49 kids, and I suppose I was the first one,” claimed Rodman.

He then recounted his emotions when someone he had never met claimed to be his father.

“It’s a trip that this guy is coming to say that he’s my father…I’ve never seen this man,” said the Bulls legend. “And he said that I wanna say just hello to you and I’m like, ‘whatever’. I’m not used to having a father after 37-something years…it’s a little late right,” he added.

After their first meeting, the two met in the Philippines in 2012, years after Rodman’s retirement from the NBA.

Following that encounter, things were said to have improved between the two as they accepted their relationship. The NBA legend also stated that he does not hate his father.

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Philander Rodman passed away in 2020, at the age of 79, following a battle with prostate cancer.