NBA legend Dennis Rodman once opened up about the time he became “rebellious” and “the bad boy.” The Detroit Pistons selected him in the second round as the 27th overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft. The Pistons were led by NBA legend Isiah Thomas. The Pistons were a good defensive team, and they had hopes for Rodman even though not many saw his potential. He showed steady improvement and eventually became one of the best defenders in the team first and then the entire league. 

Rodman was constantly asked to guard the best player on the opposing team. He was versatile enough to guard any player on the court. Furthermore, he would rack up rebounds despite being shorter for a power forward. This helped the Detroit Pistons massively. Over the years, Rodman had gone through a lot with his personal life. He was homeless for a period of time after finishing high school.

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With the Pistons, Dennis Rodman finally found something that he could call home and family. He was especially close with Isiah Thomas and coach Chuck Daly. The close-knit Pistons became the best team in the league as they won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.

Dennis Rodman opened up about the time he became “rebellious”

Dennis Rodman was a huge reason for the success of the Pistons in 1989 and 1990. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1990 which he worked so hard for and he wept while receiving the award. Then in 1991, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls finally overcame the ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons. Also, the Bulls did not just win, they swept them. After the Bulls won Game 4, the Pistons players did not even stay for a handshake. Rodman once revealed this humiliation was the beginning of his rebellious behavior.

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“Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, John Salley, and all the rest of the guys, and Isiah was the leader. I think I was more like a mild-mannered guy on the team. I just want to go out there, ‘rah-rah’, just throw my hands over there. And just have a good time playing basketball. I think I became that when we lost in the 1991 series against Chicago. That’s when I started to get rebellious. That’s when things started to crumble,” Rodman said.

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After the loss to the Bulls, the Pistons lost in the playoffs to the New York Knicks the next year. Then the Pistons started to make some changes to the team. They parted ways with head coach Chuck Daly who was like a father to Rodman. This hit Rodman hard as he could not cope with the changes that were happening around him. And this made him rebellious. However, Rodman also stated he would not have had all this superstardom if he had never left Detroit.