Dennis Rodman‘s basketball career was in limbo after helping the Chicago Bulls win three consecutive NBA championships. The Los Angeles Lakers acquired The Worm in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season but kept him for just 23 games amid disagreements with the players and staff.
In the summer of 1999, Rodman was teamless, and no one seemed interested in signing the seven-time rebounding champion. Dennis was getting old, and his crazy tendencies and rowdy off-court antics had marred his reputation.
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Barkley chimed in on Rodman’s situation
People were curious if this was the end of the road for Dennis. Charles Barkley, who had inked a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets, believed that his former rival’s time was up.
“Well, I think he is kind of caught between a rock and a hard place. I don’t think he is going to play in the NBA anymore,” Barkley said in 1999, via ESPN. “I think right now he is trying to decide what he wants to do with his future. Obviously, he is going to do well in movies, but he has to be careful in Las Vegas, because sooner or later something real bad is going to happen.”
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“And you know, I like Dennis a lot, I think he is a heck of a player, and I like him as a person,” Chuck continued. “But he is at that stage where he has got to get on with his life. The antics aren’t going to work anymore, he doesn’t have Michael, he doesn’t have Scottie, it didn’t work out with the Lakers, and he has got to get on with his life and figure out what he wants to do.”
Shaky stint
Barkley was familiar with Rodman’s past. Before he joined the Bulls in the 1995-96 season, The Worm was with the San Antonio Spurs, where he did not see eye-to-eye with the players, coaching staff, and general manager Gregg Popovich.
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Behind the Spurs and Rodman’s successes, which included a Western Conference Final appearance, was a tumultuous relationship. The Spurs wanted to get rid of Dennis so bad that they traded him for Will Perdue in a straight swap.
To an extent, it was the Bulls that saved Rodman’s career from going downhill. Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the rest of the Bulls understood Dennis was a special individual who needed a different treatment.
Jackson adjusted certain rules for Rodman, and the Bulls didn’t feel slighted. They knew that if they treated Dennis the way he wanted, he would do anything for the team. Their partnership yielded three chips and a place in history as one of the greatest teams ever assembled.
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Barkley knew that Rodman hit the jackpot with the Bulls. If it wasn’t for the Bulls’ undying belief and patience in Dennis, he would’ve been out of the league after his fallout with the Detroit Pistons.
The Dallas Mavericks tried their luck and signed Rodman in the 1999-00 season. However, their partnership ended after just 12 games, and The Worm was forced to take his talents abroad. It was not the fairy-tale ending the legendary power forward deserved.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.