Before the strange hair styles, before Madonna, before the Las Vegas trip, before Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Dennis Rodman was an unknown second-round draft pick who caught on with Bad Boys as the Detroit Pistons were rising.
No one knew much about him before he began to excel. His first brush with notoriety was suggesting that Larry Bird would be no big deal if he were Black.
It wouldn’t be his last.
A sensitive but emotionally damaged man, Rodman quickly emerged as one of the best rebounders and defenders in basketball history - and also one of the smartest players.