Rodman, On the Rebound

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Wednesday, November 19, 2003Rodman, On the Rebound

By Mike Puma

Special to ESPN.com

Signature Game

Jan. 15, 1997 - Even for Dennis Rodman, his action was outrageous. After the Bulls forward tripped over cameraman Eugene Amos along the baseline during Chicago's 112-105 victory over the Timberwolves in Minneapolis, he purposely kicked Amos, landing a shot in the groin. Amos needed medical assistance to leave the floor.

"If we were on the streets, it would not be okay," said Amos' attorney, Gale Pearson. "You've got to call it what it is, and that's an assault."

Rodman was a two-time loser. Settling out of court, he paid Amos $200,000. Rodman also received an 11-game suspension, the longest of his career, from the NBA. That cost him $1.1 million in salary.

Rodman said the cameraman embellished his injuries. "I thought I hit him in the thigh, then all of a sudden he went back," Rodman said. "I said, 'What's wrong with you? I'm sorry I hit you.' He says, 'Get away from me.' All of a sudden he passed out. I'm like, 'Yeah, right.' "

Odds 'N' Ends

• Rodman's two younger sisters received basketball scholarships: Debra at LTU and Kim at Stephen F. Austin.

• In the summer of 1983, before going to Southeastern Oklahoma State, Rodman coached at a camp in Durant, Okla., where he struck up a friendship with a white teenager named Bryne Rich. The Rich family took in Rodman and made him part of its family.

• In his first game at Southeastern Oklahoma State, Rodman scored 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.

• As a senior, Rodman shot 64.5 percent from the field and his 17.8 rebounding average led the NAIA.

• In his final college game, Rodman scored 46 points and grabbed 32 rebounds as Southeastern Oklahoma State lost in the NAIA Final Four.

• While Rodman was the first to make racial remarks about Boston's Larry Bird after Detroit lost in the 1987 playoffs, it was Rodman's teammate, Isiah Thomas, who seconded the thought and received most of the heat.

• Forty-four percent of Rodman's rebounds for the Pistons in 1987-88 were offensive, the highest ratio of his career.

• He was a career 58.4 percent foul shooter. In 1987-88, his foul shooting percentage of 53.5 percent was the lowest in the league.

• In his first three seasons, Rodman started a total of only 41 games.

• He scored a career-high 34 points on Jan. 2, 1991 against Denver.

• Rodman grabbed a career-high 34 rebounds on March 4, 1992 against Indiana.

• He played in 470 consecutive games from 1987-92 with the Pistons.

• In his two All-Star Game appearances (1990 and 1992) he grabbed 17 rebounds in 36 minutes.

• When Rodman, along with Isiah Morris, was traded to San Antonio, Detroit received Sean Elliott and David Wood.

• From 1992-97, Rodman was suspended 10 times, totaling 26 games.

• For his career, Rodman received 211 technicals, 20 ejections and 11 suspensions.

• In 1993-94, while playing with San Antonio, Rodman and David Robinson became the first teammates to lead the league in rebounding and scoring in the same season.

• Rodman was suspended for the first three games of the 1994-95 season for cursing at officials and throwing an ice bag at his coach with the Spurs, Bob Hill.

• Rodman angered Hill in 1995 by taking off his shoes and sitting on the floor during a playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

• In 1995, an Atlanta Hawks dancer accused Rodman of infecting her with herpes, saying he knew he had the virus before the two engaged in unprotected sex.

• With a salary of $12.9 million, including endorsements, Rodman ranked ninth on Forbes' list of highest paid athletes for 1996.

• Rodman appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.

• When Rodman got traded to the Bulls, he was more than $1 million in debt.

• He recorded his first career triple-double, with 10 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, against Philadelphia on Jan. 16, 1996.

• In the 1996-97 season, Rodman reached double figures in rebounding in 54 of the 55 games he played.

• Rodman got his 10,000th career rebound on Jan. 14, 1997 against Washington.

• In 169 career playoff games, he averaged 9.9 rebounds and 6.4 points.

• In a book published in 1997, Rodman's former second wife, using the pen name of Anicka Rodman, detailed arguments she had with Dennis about his affairs with other women. These disagreements, she wrote, sometimes ended violently.

• In 1997, Rodman opened a nightclub in Dallas with RuPaul, the world's most famous transvestite.

• Late in his career, Rodman dumped Nike and signed a $2.5-million endorsement deal with Converse.

• Rodman appeared in the movie "Double Team" with Jean Claude Van Damme.

• Bill Clinton was a fan of Rodman.

• On his 42nd birthday (May 13, 2003), Rodman married for the third time. The bride was his girlfriend of four years, Michelle Moyer, with whom he has two children. The couple has separate homes two miles apart in Newport Beach, Calif., and doesn't plan on cohabitating.