Former Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman is the focus of Episode 3 of ESPN's Chicago Bulls documentary entitled, “The Last Dance.” In the episode, he shared his belief that he was an indispensable member of the team's second three-peat in the late-90s.
While Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the predominant stars of those Bulls teams, Rodman said during that Chicago would not have hoisted another Larry O'Brien trophy without him.
“You know you got the great Michael Jordan, the great Scottie Pippen, the great Phil Jackson, but if you take me away from this team, do they still win a championship? I don't think so,” Dennis Rodman shared in “The Last Dance.”
Rodman indeed provided an instrumental frontcourt presence for Chicago.
While much of the Bulls' offense revolved around Jordan and Pippen, Rodman often matched up against elite big men and imposed his will on the boards.
Rodman had led the NBA in rebounding four consecutive seasons prior to coming to the Bulls ahead of the 1995-96 season, and he would continue his stranglehold over the rebounding title in each of the next three years.
The Worm's fingerprints are all over those Bulls championships. He tied an NBA Finals record for offensive rebounds in 1996, and he was arguably the most important defender when the team matched up against the Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998. Rodman went head-to-head with Jazz forward Karl Malone, routinely forcing Malone to work a little extra for his points.
There is no telling whether the Bulls still would have won a title without Rodman. But while he might be more unheralded than Jordan and Pippen, it is important to recognize Rodman played an invaluable role — as “The Last Dance” showed.
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