Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman has always been outrageous, but this year on “Celebrity Apprentice” he will join a cast of outrageous characters, including Andrew “Dice” Clay and Joan Rivers. He will be playing for the Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Orleans.
Dennis Rodman was born on May 13, 1961 in Trenton, New Jersey. Dennis’ father abandoned the family when Dennis was only three years old and Dennis grew up in a bad area of Dallas, Texas. He went to South Oak Cliff High School and played basketball, but was not a standout. After graduation, he worked as a janitor at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. After Dennis, who was only 5’ 10” when he graduated from high school, experienced a growth spurt and after topping out at 6’ 6”, he decided to try basketball again.
Rodman attended Cooke County College and averaged 17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, but flunked out. He transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He excelled there, becoming a three time NAIA All-American and leading the league in rebounding for two seasons. Rodman played at the Portsmouth Invitational, which is a pre-draft camp for NBA hopefuls. He was named the Most Valuable Player at the camp and was noticed by scouts from the Detroit Pistons.
Rodman was drafted by the Pistons in 1986. A rough and tumble team, Rodman fit right in with the team, feuding with Celtic Dennis Johnson and insulting Celtic Larry Bird after the series. The team made it to the NBA Finals in 1988, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. By then, Rodman was doing so well he was named to the All-Defensive Team. In 1989, the Pistons finally won the NBA championship, beating the Lakers 4-0 games. Rodman was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 1989-1990 season. That year, Detroit claimed its second NBA title.
Things with the Pistons started going bad after coach Chuck Daly resigned in 1991. Rodman married Annie Bakes, the mother of his four year old daughter Alexis, that same year, but the two divorced after less than a year of marriage. The Pistons only won 40 games that year and Rodman admitted in his 1997 biography “As Bad As I Wanna Be” that he contemplated suicide.
Needing a change, Rodman requested a trade and went to the San Antonio Spurs. There he won his third straight rebounding title and was named to the All-Defensive team again. He began to show up in the news more when he dyed his hair different colors (blonde, red, purple), head butted Stacey King and John Stockton, and had a much publicized affair with Madonna. During the 1994-1995 season, Rodman had trouble with the front office of the Spurs then injured his shoulder in a motorcycle accident.
After losing the championship to the Houston Rockets in 1995, Rodman was traded to the Chicago Bulls. In the 1996-97 season he won his sixth rebounding title, but was still better known for his antics off the court. He kicked a Timberwolves player in the groin during game and had to pay a settlement to the player. He was also suspended from the NBA fro 11 games.
By the end of the ‘90s, Rodman became interested in wrestling, even leaving the Bulls to go wrestling with Hulk Hogan. He also appeared at WCW’s Bash at the Beach. Rodman left the Bulls in 1998 and signed on with Los Angeles Lakers in 1999, where he played only 23 games before being released. He signed on with the Dallas Mavericks for the 1999-2000 season, but he played only 12 games before retiring from the NBA. During his career, he was named Defensive Player of the Year twice and led the NBA in rebounds per game for seven straight years.
Since retiring, Rodman has rarely been out of the public eye. He had his own reality television show (1996’s “The Rodman World Tour”), appeared in films (Simon Sez and Double Team). He also won 2005’s “Celebrity Mole” in the U.S. and participated in “Celebrity Big Brother” in the U.K. Rodman returned to basketball when he played with the Long Beach Jam of the American Basketball Association. He helped them win the ABA championship in 2004. He has also played basketball in the U.K., Finland, and the Philippines.
Rodman and Carmen Electra married in Las Vegas in November 1998, but the marriage was ended less than six months later. In addition to daughter Alexis, he has a son (D.J.) and a daughter (Trinity) with his third wife Michelle Moyer, whom he is in the process of divorcing.
Read these other great entries