When Dennis Rodman favored Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen over Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal because of Lakers pair's "b**ching"
Dennis Rodman is best known for his time playing with Michael Jordan’s serial NBA-title winning Chicago Bulls team.
Rodman played alongside some of the greatest players in NBA history, including Jordan and Scottie Pippen. He later shared a locker room with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Rodman joined the Bulls in 1995, just in time to help the team win three consecutive NBA championships.
However, his time with the LA Lakers is not remembered positively by the player. In an interview, Rodman said:
“They couldn’t stand me on that damn team, to be honest with you. Sh*t you not, I said this ”I gotta take a break, I gotta go to Vegas.” Because, I couldn’t hear that sh*t every day. Every day they bit**in, and bit**in, and bit**in, complaining every day. Kobe and Shaq, Kobe and Shaq, and they’re just bit**in about everything.”
The Lakers team during that season had a lot of drama and friction, and Rodman found it hard to adapt to the different approach of Shaq and Kobe compared to his time with the Bulls.
Dennis Rodman does not remember his time with LA Lakers fondly
Dennis Rodman suggested that the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were a bit too dramatic, compared to Jordan and Pippen:
"In Chicago, we never did this sh*t. If we got mad, we got mad at ourselves.”
The Lakers undoubtedly had a lot of success in the following years, but Rodman's experience with the team was not a positive one for him. Rodman ended up leaving after just one season, and was not a part of the LA Lakers team that won three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002.
There is little doubt that both the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers of the early 2000s were phenomenal teams, and easily two of the best NBA teams that the league has ever seen. Still, the playing style and overall personalities of the players on those teams were very different, as proved by Dennis Rodman.
RThe Worm”was never known for his professionalism or work ethic, and was known to be a party freak throughout his career. However, Jordan and Pippen knew how to get the best out of the player, something that might not have been true for the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, especially at that stage of their respective careers.