"I wanted to bust Michael's a**" - Dennis Rodman recalls the time when his shoes outsold Michael Jordan's signature sneakers
Dennis Rodman talked about the time when his shoes outsold Michael Jordan's patented sneakers. The two had quite a relationship during their three-peat with the Chicago Bulls. They were competitors both on and off the floor.
NBA Hall of Famer, Rodman, went sneaker shopping with the media company Complex, collecting various sneakers he donned throughout his career. Although gifted with size and athletic ability to rebound the ball, Rodman was not as famous as Jordan during his playing days. As a result, Rodman’s sneaker endorsements took some time to catch on.
On the reveal of Nike Air Darwin’s, which was one of the first shoes with a reverse swoosh, Rodman spoke about his first unofficial shoe deal:
“It was amazing, the fact that when they did this whole thing – they did it backwards. I said ‘Wow, they won’t put my name on it. They want me to wear it, but won’t put me name on it.’ I guess I wasn’t famous enough.”
Next up was the Nike Air Shake NDestrukt, which Rodman wore during his time with the Bulls. Jordan at that point was at the forefront of the sneaker business, with his “Air Jordan” endorsements becoming a global trend. However, in terms of sales, this pair of Rodman’s sneakers outdid Jordan’s.
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Rodman recollected the popularity of the Nike Air Shake NDestrukt, saying:
“At the time, I didn’t realize that this was really so popular. I started sending people in the stands, on the street right – ‘I’m actually selling shoes huh’. They did something really cool with this shoe, so I’m like ‘Thank you!’”
He continued:
“It was so awesome, I wanted to bust Michael’s a** and say, ‘Hey you know Michael, my s*** is outselling yours.”
The relationship between Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan
The duo of Rodman and Jordan shared the court as both opponents and teammates.
Before joining the Chicago Bulls, Dennis Rodman was part of the Detroit Pistons. He was part of the infamous “Bad Boys” crew Jordan had a tough time beating. Rodman won two NBA championships before teaming up with Michael Jordan and then going on to win three more together.
Most of their on-court relationship was uncovered in the show “The Last Dance” that released a couple of years ago. In an interview last year, Rodman revealed that they are still in touch:
“We stay in touch. I saw him the other day. He was in Maryland; I was in Maryland. When I go back to Fort Lauderdale, I am probably going to hang out at his house for a couple of days to see what’s up.”
Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman were fierce competitors who made things work when they played for the same team. After Jordan returned from a brief career in baseball, he and Rodman helped the Bulls to their second three-peat between 1996-98.