Did you know that Dennis Rodman once played for the LA Lakers? We look at his stats, jersey number and more from that season
Dennis Rodman, after winning his fifth championship, packed his bags and left Chicago for the LA Lakers. A 37-year-old Rodman joined a camp that had, in their midst, one of the fiercest competitors - Kobe Bryant - and the colossal Shaquille O'Neal.
Having played with arguably the greatest player in the history of the game, Dennis the Menace made Los Angeles his home for the second last season of his career. A career that began as the third pick in the second round of the 1986 NBA draft took Rodman to the LA Lakers' shores 12 long years later.
Dennis Rodman turns 59 today 🐛
In the '97-'98 season, The Worm became the oldest player to lead the league in rebounding (1,201). https://t.co/NyJJK7AuDk
Rodman had by then achieved everything possible. A man who had been kicked out by his own mother at the tender age of twenty was now a legend that had helped a god bring a league to its knees. He came to LA Lakers a man who had seen the toughest battles imaginable and had lost much of his yesteryear drive. And yet, once he donned the purple and gold jersey, he was once more a rebounding genius.
Dennis Rodman's LA Lakers stats, jersey number and more
A year before Phil Jackson would take over the Lakers, Dennis Rodman, Phil's former pupil, would play 23 games for the team in the 1998-99 season. In the 23 games, he would start 11 games and average 28.6 minutes per game. Never a lethal scorer, the eccentric seven-time rebounding champion, with 2.1 points per game, scored the lowest average points in a season while with the oldest basketball team in LA.
Oh, we’re talking about Ron Harper and Dennis Rodman? #TheLastDance https://t.co/FZd7Z28CYY
However, still a fierce rebounder even at the age of 27, Dennis Rodman registered a whooping 11.2 rebounds per game of which 8.5 were defensive rebounds. He would go on to average 14.3 rebounds in his last NBA season while playing for the Dallas Mavericks, thus proving his might as a dominating force under the paint even as his career ended.
In his total stats over the entirety of the 1998-99 season with the LA Lakers, Dennis Rodman attempted 46 field goals and converted only 16 of them. Yet, arguably the greatest rebounder of all-time, Rodzilla collected a total of 258 rebounds in just 657 minutes of playing time.