Dennis Rodman left his former self behind in Detroit in 1993 and joined the San Antonio Spurs as a man with changing hair colors and an increasingly free spirit. The Worm, who'd had already earned two defensive player of the year awards, teamed with center David Robinson to form a formidable paint duo.
Rodman led the NBA in rebounding during both of his seasons with the Spurs. He was 2nd team all-defense in '93-'94 and 1st team all-defense the following year. He was 3rd team all-NBA in '95-'96 despite only playing in 49 games and starting in 26, largely on the strength of his defense and rebounding prowess.
In San Antonio, Rodman clashed with his coach, Bob Hill who the Worm called "Boner." Yet he played great with David Robinson who earned his only MVP award alongside Rodman in '94-'95. Check out this clip to see how much love Rodman showed for a rare display of intensity by the Admiral.
Current Celtics coach Doc Rivers was a veteran backup point guard on Rodman's Spurs. He marveled at Rodman's subtle offensive greatness which often went unnoticed. "He's a great offensive player," Doc said. "He's so smart and he sees the floor like a guard. He'll set the key screen or make the great pass. His pass might not lead to the basket, but it's the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the basket."
After two tumultuous years with the Spurs, Rodman's run in San Antonio was done. They'd had enough of a hair dying freak who wouldn't fall in line behind the conservative coaching style of Boner Bob Hill. And Rodman had had enough of a soft-spoken leader like David Robinson who shrunk under bright lights.
The Spurs traded Rodman to the Bulls for their starting center Will Perdue. Rodman was coming off a season with 7.1 points, 16.8 rebounds per game. Perdue had just managed 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in Chicago. San Antonio must have really hated them some Dennis Rodman to make a trade that clearly favored the Bulls.
In the Worm's last year with the Spurs, they lost in the conference Finals to the eventual repeat champion Houston Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon. It took them four years to get that deep in the playoffs again, largely because of the arrival of another dominant power forward, Tim Duncan.
Meanwhile, Rodman began a wildly successful run with the Chicago Bulls. Part 3 of the Rodman Review will cover the greatness of Rodman's collaboration with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
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