January 5, 2026
While playing with the Detroit Pistons, Rodman was one of the reasons Jordan couldn’t get the Bulls past them
In a 1995 interview, NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan discussed his relationship with former nemesis-turned-teammate Dennis Rodman and why he never anticipated becoming friends with him, even though they played on the same Chicago Bulls team that won several championships.
The Basketball Network recalled a conversation Jordan had with the Los Angeles Times, in which he said he did not know what to expect from Rodman as a teammate rather than an adversary. When Rodman was winning NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons, the team known as “The Bad Boys” won two championships (1989 and 1990) with a style reminiscent of neighborhood players who used bullying tactics to overcome their opponents.
As Jordan and the Bulls were starting to become a force in the NBA, the Pistons always knocked them back, infuriating Jordan because they never could beat the league’s bullies. The Pistons, particularly Rodman, brought “The Jordan Rules,” a simple plan to harass and bully Jordan whenever he touched the ball. It worked. So, welcoming a man who was more aggressive than the average NBA player into the fold was extremely risky.
Rodman was known around the league and to NBA fans as an uncontrollable player, yet he was a rebounding machine and always found ways to get in his opponents’ heads during and even before games. So, when Rodman joined the Bulls, he was still unsure how they would mesh, especially since Jordan was usually the target of Rodman’s harassment.
“I didn’t really know his attitude, if his desire to win would be strong enough to accept the system that we have here,” he stated in the Los Angeles Times article. “He’s still got a lot to learn about the system, but his enthusiasm, his work ethic — it’s not surprising, but it’s welcome.”
By the time Rodman became a Chicago Bull, he had already won two NBA championships and two Defensive Player of the Year trophies. He also led the league in rebounds for four straight years and had amassed six NBA All-Defensive First Team selections. Jordan stated that they had talked when he joined the team, but not about their past interactions; he also knew that Rodman could help the team win the championship.
“I mean, we’ve talked, but in terms of just sit down and iron things out? Nah. I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” Jordan said. “I mean, I think we respect each other as professionals. So we may not know each other from a personal standpoint. . . . I don’t think either one of us wants to make that approach.”
The chemistry, along with the other components of the team, worked as they won the championship in Rodman’s first season with the Bulls, also breaking a record (since surpassed by the Golden State Warriors) by winning 72 games.
Jordan said they got along once they got to know each other, and he ended up genuinely liking Rodman.
“Frankly, they’re more about basketball than anything else because that’s the one area of common ground we share,” Jordan said. “But he has opened up a lot to me during the season, which I didn’t necessarily expect, and I do like him.”
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