SerpApi.Org
Dennis Rodman recently shared an utterly outrageous story of missing a Chicago Bulls game because he lost track of time. Apparently, the Worm had an enjoyable night partying in a strip club in New York and gambling in Atlantic City. What's even more shocking is that he only received a slap on the wrist afterward.
Well, if you look at it through today's lens, that would have been front-page news, so no athlete in his right mind would even think about doing that stuff. However, Rodman was not just any person or athlete. That's why Eddie Johnson, who played against Dennis in the 80s and 90s, believed every single word he said.
For the 1989 Sixth Man of the Year, there were crazier stories out there involving Rodman that nothing is a surprise anymore.
Eddie heard first-hand accounts
Johnson entered the league in 1981 and played until 1999. That means his career overlapped with all of Rodman's seasons, except 1994-95 (Eddie played overseas) and 1999-2000 (Eddie retired the year before).
Of course, Johnson would hear stories about Rodman's antics. He shared one of those in his recent X post, affirming that the Menace's shenanigans can be downright foolish, but completely believable.
"He is not embellishing. I once had a Bulls player tell me that he was instructed to go to Rodman's Condo because he was not at shootaround and he walked in and saw Dennis sitting on the floor (no furniture in condo) hungover half naked eating cereal and had 20 rebounds that night!" Johnson wrote.
Somehow, the most eccentric part of Eddie's story was the absence of furniture in Dennis' condominium. He earned millions during these years and perhaps could find someone willing to give him a sofa or a dining table for free. Instead, nada. He sat on the floor eating cereal.
Johnson didn't mention who told him that story, but Phil Jackson assigned Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler to babysit Rodman when Dennis went to Atlantic City to gamble. Kerr used "wild night" and "crazy night" to describe the experience, so it wasn't really out of the ordinary if it somehow involved the NBA's Bad Boy.
For Rodman, that was just another day in the office.
Which game was Dennis talking about?
Rodman mentioned that New York/Atlantic City escapade on Dwight Howard's "Above the Rim with D12" podcast. He never included any more details besides remembering it was from the 72-10 win season, which was 1995-96.
However, that's very unlikely, given that all 18 of his missed games that year were accounted for. The NBA suspended him for six games after headbutting a cameraman, and several others were because of suspensions and injuries.
It was very plausible that Dennis mixed up the seasons. After all, his antics could fill an entire library if it came down to it. The likeliest scenario was the 1997-98 season, where he only missed two games. By the way Rodman described the sequence of events, the January 23, 1998, game might just be it.
The Bulls faced the Charlotte Hornets on January 21 and had a New Jersey game on the 23rd. The team probably landed in Jersey on the 22nd, so it theoretically gave Rodman the time to spend the night somewhere in New York and Atlantic City (which is in New Jersey). There's a good chance Dennis actually missed the Nets contest and was sent back home to play Utah on the 25th.
"Nothing happened," Rodman said, as reported by The Washington Post. "I messed up and that's it. It's as simple as that."
Well, not knowing you had a game is flat-out the definition of "messing up." The dates may be fuzzy, but if it came to crazy stories that were borderline preposterous, one should never doubt the one and only Rodman.
