Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas witnessed many iconic moments throughout his storied nine-year Hall of Fame career. One of them did not happen in a game; it happened during team practice. His former teammate, Dennis Rodman, was a unique character off the court, but on the court, he mastered the art of rebounding.
In his appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast in 2023, Thomas shared a story about how he once saw Rodman strategically practice rebounding.
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“We were standing in the lay-up line, warming up and shooting, and Rodman was standing back and watching everybody shoot. I said, ‘Hey, come on, you have to participate; everybody’s shooting lay-ups, you have to shoot lay-ups, too.’ And he said, ‘I’m just watching the rotations on the basketball.’ I said, ‘Excuse me?’ He said, ‘Like when you shoot, your ball spins three times in the air,” Thomas said.
Rodman’s rebounding obsession
What made The Worm one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history was the sacrifice he made to solely focus on this skill rather than his desire to be his team’s offensive focal point. The five-time champion doesn’t get enough credit for making such a pivotal sacrifice, but it didn’t really bother him.
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All the legendary power forward wanted to do was do an extraordinary job at what he knew he was good at, which is why he’s considered one of the best role players of all time. In pursuit of becoming one of the best role players of all time, Rodman really studied his teammates’ tendencies because he knew that’s how he’d master helping them on the glass.
“That’s how far Rodman had taken rebounding, to a totally different level, like off the charts. He knew the rotation of every person that shot on our team — if it spins sideways, where it would bounce, how often it would bounce left or right. He had rebounding down to a science, and I never heard anyone think or talk about rebounding and defense the way he could break it down,”added Thomas.
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Dennis’s rebounding legacy
Rodman was so focused on perfecting the art of rebounding that even his coach on the Chicago Bulls, Phil Jackson, once said that it became a distraction for him at one point in his career.
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After all the time he put into cracking the code of rebounding, the Hall of Famer became a seven-time rebounding champion throughout his 14-year career in the league. In seven of those seasons, he averaged more than 14.0 total rebounds per game.
Besides that, the big man also had more games in which he rebounded the ball 20 times (167) compared to when he scored 20 points in a game (19).
Rodman’s rebounding played a huge role in not just extending the Bulls’ dynasty run in the 90s but also in the success of Thomas and the Bad Boy Pistons. Mastering the art of rebounding was a unique obsession for one of the most unique players in NBA history.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.