By Greg Cameron
SPRINGFIELD, MASS.,–During his playing career Dennis Rodman was bad as he wanted to be. On Friday night, “The Worm” was honored for how great of an NBA player he was during a 14-year NBA career during which he left an indelible mark.
That career took up residence in a pair of league dynasties beginning first with the infamous Detroit Pistons, more affectionately known by the moniker of the “Bad Boys,” and finishing up with the 1990’s Chicago Bulls headlined by on-the-court titans named Jordan and Pippen, and coached by Phil Jackson.
Dennis Rodman at the Springfield dais on Friday night
Those Windy City winning teams were NBA royalty, and in that basketball castle, Rodman played the role of court jester. The tattoos, piercings, Big Box Crayola chromatic hair, and the infamous wedding dress, were all parts of Rodman’s rebellious and perpetual uniform.
“I didn’t play the game for the money. I didn’t play the game to be famous,” Rodman said as he choked back tears Friday night. “What you see here is just an illusion, and that I love to be an individual that is very colorful,” he added about his persona.
Rodman’s career was checkered with incidents and mishaps, many of which landed him in hot water with NBA commissioner David Stern. However, Rodman was cognizant of the commissioner’s presence inside Symphony Hall on Friday night.
“I want to thank David Stern and the NBA community for even having me in the building,” Rodman said. His Hall candidacy could have been hindered by his trouble-making ways, including a notable 1997 suspension for kicking a courtside camera man that sidelined him for 11 games.
Rodman’s fashion sense was also something that set him apart from many others in the annals of basketball history. Friday night’s wardrobe was no different, as Rodman wore a black suit with sequined designs (including his jersey numbers with both the Bulls and Pistons), red lapel and a frilly and sequin-adorned shirt that looked as if it was once worn by the artist formerly and now currently known as Prince.
His red carpet outfit was even crazier, as he wore a pewter gray suit, cowboy hat with matching gray plumage attached to it, and a black feather boa.
All theatrics, incidents, and fashion faux pas aside, Rodman, a two-time All-Star, proved to be a rebounding machine. His 11,954 boards come in at 23rd all-time in league history.
His game on the defensive end of the floor set him apart from and stifled a great many of his contemporaries. Rodman was twice named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-NBA Defensive team a whopping seven times.
Rodman played the game with a feverish passion. That passion and appreciation was evident during The Worm’s ten-minute speech Friday night, as for the majority of it, he held back tears and stammered through chunks of his improvisational prose.
“This game has been very good to me,” Rodman admitted. “I could have been anywhere in the world. I could have been dead. I could have been a drug dealer,” he added about the possible alternatives that he could have potentially faced had basketball not been such a prevalent part of his life.
Rodman’s road to Hall of Fame enshrinement can certainly be classified as a circuitous route to Springfield’s hallowed hoops shrine. His career at times could have also been classified as a circus.
With five NBA championship rings, earned with a pair of the last half-century’s most memorable teams, that career is now cemented alongside the game’s all-time greats. In that career which spanned nearly a decade and a half, Dennis Rodman was called many things including troublemaker, defensive player of the year, and even menace.
But you can now add one more title to that litany of distinctions: Hall of Famer.
Follow Greg Cameron on Twitter: @Greg_Cameron and shoot him an e-mail at gregory.r.cameron@gmail.com.
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