The grind of an 82-game NBA season can be a grueling, marathon of a slog. In today's NBA, some players cope with the physical toll of playing so often by taking advantage of load management, a relatively new tactic that's rankled some of the game's old guard.
For the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, one player in particular needed to take some time to recharge: enigmatic forward Dennis Rodman.
In the third episode of ESPN's 10-part documentary The Last Dance, Michael Jordan recounts a story of a time when Rodman, who'd seen his role and responsibility expand during the absence of All-Star Scottie Pippen, wanted to take some time to re-group after Pippen returned from injury.