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“I Still Couldn’t Guard His A**”: Dennis Rodman Hated Facing Ex Lakers Star the Most Despite Going Up Against Shaquille O’Neal and Other NBA Legends

Published 01/10/2023, 10:50 AM EST

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Five-time NBA Champion Dennis Rodman had dominated the hardwood with his impressive guarding and rebounding skills. During his NBA career, he faced a lot of controversies off-court. Especially during his stint with the Chicago Bulls. But he always maintained the reputation for his defense. He was an influential part of the Bulls’ second three-peat. Generally, most NBA stars found it hard to beat Rodman because of his defensive prowess. Interestingly, the Worm hated guarding a particular Los Angeles Lakers star.

Rodman had several on-court heated moments with NBA stars during games throughout his career. Most notably, against Shaquille O’Neal. While Shaq dominated most defenders, Rodman was able to keep him quiet at times.

Lakers legend James Worthy troubled Dennis Rodman

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In an interview for Sports Illustrated in 2013, Dennis Rodman revealed the NBA player that he hated the most to face. The Bulls legend had guarded players who are taller than him but ended up troubling them during the game. But, the Worm hated to guard Lakers legend James Worthy, despite his height advantage. Rodman said, “I still couldn’t guard his a**. He’d come off a screen, and I’d try to see if he was going over the top or underneath. Next thing I knew, he was at the rim.

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James Worthy’s NBA career expanded over 12 seasons and he played his final season in 1993. Notably, he played his entire career wearing the Purple and Gold jersey averaging 17.6 points in 926 games.

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Moreover, Rodman played majorly for the Detroit Pistons during James Worthy’s career. The ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons are known for their aggressive defensive style. Rodman won two Defensive Player of the Year awards and helped the Pistons win two-straight titles.

Shaq-Rodman face-offs

Shaquille O’Neal and Dennis Rodman had several heated moments on the hardwood. Those heated moments involved a lot of trash-talking and elbowing from both parties. One of the most notable moments occurred during the game between the Lakers and the Bulls. When the Big Diesel and Worm were about to throw punches at each other Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen stepped in immediately and pulled Rodman out of the scene.

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What do you make of Dennis Rodman’s statement about James Worthy? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Shahul Hameed

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Shahul Hameed is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He holds a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has previously worked as a contributor at an online news site. Shahul has always shared a keen interest in journalism, starting off as a reporter for his college news journal.
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Edited by:

Bagavathi Eswaran