First, that is a brilliant chart, and second, Rodman was a beast. It really didn't matter if he did anything else well because he was so good at the two things he did, rebound and defend, that it made him an elite player, and unique in NBA history. It's funny how we've seen many players compared to other greats, but no one ever really compares to Rodman
Don't tell that to espn, they're certain Tristan Thompson is the second coming of him. Such blasphemy.
I should have phrased that "no one making any well thought out analysis should compare any other player to Rodman"
Rodman was a beast on the boards, but I'd say he was an even better defender. Could literally guard all 5 positions and did a great job vs Shaq when he was in Orlando.
The attention to detail that he gave the art of rebounding amazed me. He would watch tape of his opponents missed shots, looking for a common theme in the ball's trajectory. Who does that? Agreed John3:16, he was an incredible defender as well. The versatility of guarding MJ and Magic to Malone and Shaq, that's ridiculous. I stand by the claim the he was either 1A or 1B as the greatest at getting in the head and under the skin of his opponent. Watching him force an opponent to crumble just by f***ing with him. Frank Brickowski...sp?, was one of my favorite examples. After a couple of scrums under the rim, he fouled Frank, Frank went to the line, Rodman ignored boxing out instead he turned and faced Frank while he was trying to shoot his FTs. What I would give to have seen him go up against Bron. The fact that he was such a force all while flying to Vegas during days off, being hung over or coming down from whatever high he was on during game days, and would barely sleep due to his partying but he still went out there and could dominate two aspects of the game...that's impressive as hell.
Should've been MVP of that Finals, IMO. Just flustered the crap out of Brickowski, to the point is was ineffective. Kemp had a great series, and Rodman gave him his props for really elevating his game, but it came down to Glove and Kemp and no one else. Rodman was so important to that Bulls 3peat (I know everyone knows that already), but I still think Rodman is underrated. Rodman once said he was the winningest player of all time. I'm assuming win % in games he played (regular season). I don't doubt that. Detroit teams won a ton, Spurs had best record in the league when he was there, and the Chicago teams. I just can't verify if this is true anywhere. HELP!!
Rodman looked pretty good in a dress It's unfortunate, but his antics the last couple of years in the league really overshadowed a lot of his great play.
I still lean toward Wilt as the GOAT rebounder, but Rodman has a legit argument. I think only Wilt, Russell and Rodman are in the conversation.
My issue with Wilt in this argument is the same as my complaint with him listed as the best for any particular title -- level of competition and size advantage. It would have been like Rodman boxing out against point guards. The 90s, where Rodman did his damage, was chock full of the best bigs the game has seen. Every team had at least one big who would be an all star today.
I'm not sure if I slept with 5 women a day that I could score 50 ppg and grab 25 rpg. Most dominant season ever in any era. Definitely would have been great to see him against more all time greats though.
This was true in the early part of Wilt's career but not the latter part. He played against bigs like this and was a dominant rebounder against all of them: Kareem, Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, Bob Lanier, McAdoo, Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas, Dave Cowens. And Walt Bellamy. Also because there were fewer teams he played these guys more often and had few games in his latter career against centers like: Splitter, Kaman, JHill, Len, Kanter, Zeller, Mozgov, Bogut, and the many other stiffs playing center today.
I think pound for pound, Rodman is the best. BUT..... he played D and rebounded and gave zero effort on offense. Wilt exerted the same, if not more energy, on offense. That'll wear you down over 82 games. I'll also add, if Rodman was having a bad night, he'd start his antics and get tossed. He never did that when he had 20 rebounds. Only on the bad nights.
