Dennis Rodman is not having any talks about a Big Three in today's NBA, claiming not only to be a part of the original Big Three, but also noting that the Chicago Bulls' title run ended while he, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson waited for Michael Jordan to get paid the money he wanted.

“Me and Mike and Scottie revolutionized the game. The way everyone plays now, that's how we played then. And now all of a sudden everyone's talking about Big Threes. Now? Really? We were the Big Three. We were the main three,” Rodman told Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report. “We consistently won, we consistently won championships. And the only reason we didn't repeat four in a row is because Mike said, “I want X millions of dollars.” And they didn't want to pay him, so he left, I left, Scottie left and Phil Jackson left. We were all waiting on Michael. That's how the run ended.”

Many have wondered how many championships the Bulls would have won had Jordan not retired from the game, but it surely had a lot more than money involved in the matter. Jordan's six championships had already cemented him as a perennial winner in the modern era of basketball and the owner-induced lockout surely took some of the drive away from the desire to return.

He would return a year later as a part-owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards, but that return to the NBA wasn't the one Rodman or fans of the sport wanted from him.

Jordan would make a third comeback in September of 2001, inspired by the return of longtime friend Mario Lemieux, donating his full salary to the relief of those affected by a Sept. 11 terrorist attack.