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Rodman voted into NBA Hall of Fame

By Matt Fortuna
Special to NCAA.org

HOUSTON — Dennis Rodman kicked off his weekend Friday in Detroit to watch as his No. 10 jersey was retired by the Pistons. He ended it Monday in Houston as part of the 10-person Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2011.

Best weekend of his career?

"I've had a lot of great weekends," joked Rodman, who gained notoriety throughout the basketball and entertainment worlds for the actresses he dated, the different colors he changed his hair to and the piercings he adorned his body with.

Chris Mullin, Artis Gilmore, Herb Magee and Tom "Satch" Sanders were the other 2011 class members in attendance. Tex Winter, Arvydas Sabonis, Teresa Edwards, Tara VanDerveer and the late Reece "Goose" Tatum rounded out this year's class, which will be inducted Aug. 12 in Springfield, Mass.

Sporting a black baseball cap and sunglasses, sneakers, a leopard-spotted scarf and an unbuttoned shirt, Rodman drew the most attention of any of the four other class members in attendance.

Had Rodman actually shown up in a suit like almost everyone else, Mullin said, "I might've fallen off the stage."

Yet the honor gave notice to all Rodman accomplished over a 14-year career.

Known more for his extracurriculars off the court, Rodman was a two-time defensive player of the year who averaged 13.2 rebounds per game. He won seven consecutive rebounding titles from the 1991-92 season to 1997-98 despite standing just 6 feet, 8 inches tall.

"I never dreamed of being basketball player when I was in high school," Rodman said. "I was just a 5-foot-8 kid trying to live life, get a job and not go to jail or be dead, pretty much.

"All of a sudden I'm 6-8 in two years and I started playing basketball."

Rodman initially thought the last few days were presented to him as a prank, seeing how his jersey retirement landed on April Fool's Day.

And he was sure his unorthodox lifestyle away from basketball would scare Hall of Fame voters away. Rodman said he would have been content with that outcome.

"I just think that the way I am, I thought that I wouldn't get in," Rodman said. "They said, 'Dennis, you do too many things off the court that doesn't represent us, the Hall.' And I didn't take offense to it. I said, 'OK, thanks, whatever. I had a great time. I had a great career.' But I didn't expect them to say, 'OK Dennis, we're actually considering you for the Hall of Fame.' "

He felt the voters' willingness to overlook his character was due to the fact he was an integral piece to five championship teams with the Pistons and Chicago Bulls.

Winter also was announced as part of the 2011 Hall of Fame class on Monday. He served as an assistant under Hall of Famer Phil Jackson on those Bulls teams, which thrived in his famous triangle offense. Rodman's last three titles came with the Bulls, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Four months from now, Rodman will be inducted one year after Pippen and two years after Jordan, completing the three-class trifecta.

Matt Fortuna is a senior in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State University.