Original subtitles

I could have a bum, I could have been in jail,

I could have been dead, but I worked my ass off to get here.

You know, you hear a lot of negative things about Dennis rodman,

but people don't actually know Dennis rodman.

They just see what they see on the court and what they read in the papers

and say, "god, he's a bad person."

No, I just think that I created this monster.

But nobody can say anything bad about me as a teammate.

You know, you got the great Michael Jordan,

the great scottie pippen, the great Phil Jackson,

but if you take me away from this team, do they still win a championship?

I don't think so.

I love Michael Jordan to death.

I love scottie pippen, all these guys,

but they really don't do the things that I do.

I'm the only guy to go out there and do all the dirty work,

taking abuse from other players.

I want to go out there and get my nose broken,

I want go out there and get cut.

Something that's going to really just bring out the hurt, the pain.

I want to feel that.

A spectacular move!

And the game's over!

Chicago stadium is going wild!

First of all, there's no backstabbing going on here.

It's time for me to move on.

This will be Phil's last year as the coach of the bulls.

Are the expectations way too high?

Where do we go from here?

The only question: How long can it last?

They still m/ght be considered world champs, but so far this season,

the Chicago Bulls have looked more like that old circus act from the '80s

called Michael and his jordana/res.

The defending champs need help. They're reeling, looking average.

As for ll/lj's supporting cast,

rodman is having trouble getting out of the gate.

Let's go, let's go, fellas.

First meeting featuring Michael the player

against Larry the coach.

Bulls and pacers.

Dennis rodman blocked by Dale Davis. Reggie Miller.

Look at the crossover. R/ght past Jordan for the hoop.

Phil jackso... We've seen that look before this year.

Pacers go on to the win, dropping the bulls to 8-7.

Last season, Chicago didn't lose their seventh until game 56.

We missed a lot of easy shots.

You know, we haven't really shot the ball particularly well.

But, tonight, what killed us was our rebounding.

Our rebounding was horrendous.

We couldn't get the rebound. We couldn't clear the boards.

Dennis is...

He's kind of lagging back there behind everybody else in,

you know, his enthusiasm for the game right now.

Dennis rodman's the best on-ball defender I've ever seen in 30 years.

The problem was that he wasn't always motivated to play.

It's another one of those periods that I'm bored as hell

and I got to find some way to put a log on the fire.

You know, I didn't see it that way.

There's a lot of things I don't see.

Most of the time, though, I see the shit you do.

Dennis hadn't accepted the role that scottie wasn't gonna be around,

and we needed you to be more accountable.

I need to count on you.

So around that time, we had a game, and he gets kicked out for some shit.

And I'm livid because he got kicked out of the game

and leaves me out there by myself. 'Cause scottie's not playing.

And Dennis knew he fucked up. He knew he screwed up.

I hear someone knocking on my door at the hotel.

Now, Dennis never comes to my room.

And he comes and said, "man, you got an extra cigar?"

I went to Michael Jordan's room, asked for a cigar,

but I think that he knew the fact that, you know,

that I think that's probably his way of me showing him that, you know, man,

my thing, my bad.

He didn't say an apology, he didn't say anything,

but by him coming to my room,

it was his way of saying, "look, man, I fucked up."

And from that point on, Dennis was straight as an arrow.

And we started to win.

I'd like to ask all y'all one question: What time is it?

Game time! Whoo!

When scottie left, I think Mike had a lot of confidence in me to...

Knowing that I'm gonna be there for him.

I'm no going to let him down, I'm not going to let the team down,

let the city down, no.

Rodman clears the defensive board for the bulls.

The nets gave it a whirl but just did not have enough.

The defending champion Chicago Bulls knocked off the New Jersey nets 700-92.

Dennis is what held us together when scottie was out.

He had to really focus to make us as competitive as we were.

We adapt, and we adapt quickly, and we're off and running.

Rodman battling for the rebound, saving it in/

and kerr snatches it out of the air, drills it/

now, that's... that's winning basketball.

Those are the plays that Dennis rodman does to make his team great.

A wesome.

As a black kid living in projects,

life was really fuckin' nuts, right.

It was like, "whoa."

My mother drove buses for the school.

And she got sick and tired of my ass not providing, not doing anything.

And I think I was... what was I, 18?

She just got tired of me and kicked me out,

so, basically, I lived in the street for two years.

I was just trying to bounce around, see where I could stay at.

People's backyard, my friend's backyard, stuff like that,

so I could have been a drug dealer, I could have been dead,

I could have been, shit, anything, man, at that time.

I don't know why I never did that drug stuff, but I never did.

I'd just sit there and watch them do it, watch them sell it and stuff like that,

and I'd walk out the door every day.

Go to the gym, come back, do the same thing every day.

I was just fortunate to start... Pick up a basketball and start playing.

And I just got lucky that, you know, some guy from some college said,

"Dennis, you want to play for us?"

I said, "all right, great."

I went balls out every time.

I don't know, I just knew how to go full speed.

So when I was at college, I averaged, like, 27 points, 14, 15 rebounds a game.

I'm trying to, you know, get through school, you know,

try to get a degree and things, you know. And whatever's...

You know, when I finish school, I'll just, you know, hope for the best.

We just had two other picks here in the second round

that I'll give to you very quickly.

Greg dreiling went to Indiana, the big center,

and Dennis rodman, the youngster from southeast Oklahoma state,

went to Detroit as the 27th pick in the 1986 draft.

When he first came to Detroit,

he was just an innocent, beautiful person.

But a little naive about, like, the world.

He was simple at that time.

Like, he would say, "man, you don't know life

till you can just go out, get away from everybody,

make a fire, you know, cook your food outside,

and just look at the stars."

I think the second and third year in the league,

I actually figured out what I can do best...

Rebound and play defense.

Basically, I just started learning how to perfect that.

Holy cow! How about this 7

I just used to have my friends late at night,

shit, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, we go to the gym.

I'd say, "shoot the ball.

Shoot over here, shoot over here, shoot over there, shoot over there."

I'd just sit there and react, react.

I just practiced a lot about the angle of the ball and the trajectory of it.

You got a Larry bird, it's gonna spin. You got a magic, it'll maybe spin.

When Michael shoot over here, I'd position myself right there.

Now it hit the rim, it's boom, uh.

Click and go back this way. Boom, here to here.

Click, it'll go that way. Boom, that way.

Click here and go like this way.

So, basically, I just started learning

how to put myself in a position to get the ball.

Rebound kept alive by rodman.

I was pretty much like that rash... On players.

Always that rash you can't ever get rid of, right?

Dennis rodman was the fuck-up person. He just fucks everything up.

He's a pest, shuttin' down whoever he wanted to.

It was always a challenge.

He was one of them players

that would change the game just by his presence.

I'll tell you, you talk about coaches' dreams...

There aren't many players like him.

Couldn't be a player I'm more proud of and proud to be associated with.

He had a great relationship with Chuck daly.

Chuck was the only person that understood him.

Here. Let's say you got stop sign, you're in here playing your defense.

Lock him here.

I remember one time I was working with Dennis,

and then Chuck called me over, and he said,

"just leave him alone. You don't put a saddle on a mustang.

- Did you have that reputation? - No. I built that in Detroit.

There's no disputing that Detroit is one of the most physical teams in the NBA,

and it's all part of their strategy

to take their opponents out of their rhythm.

The Detroit pistons were the epitome of the physical, tough,

hard-nosed brand of half-court basketball.

They had big, strong guys in laimbeer, and mahorn, rodman, salley.

They had a great defensive player in Joe dumars.

They had Isiah Thomas.

I don't think they cared.

I/I/I/kins gets knocked to the deck, and watch ll/lahorn.

Rivers... oh, pushed hard/

I mean, he was driven to the floor.

At that time in the NBA,

basically, you could do anything you want.

- Compared to today... - 30 years ago, shit.

Back then, you could just sit there and just literally beat people up.

And still get away with it without a technical or anything.

Dennis rodman and lohaus

under the basket going at it.

We're like a hockey team. Everybody want to see us fight.

Rick mahorn told me how to elbow and said,

"if you hit somebody, do it on purpose."

Don't get a cheap foul, that's stupid. If you gonna hit him, hit him.

The acquired the moniker the "bad boys."

They played a tough, intimidating style, and a lot of people didn't like it

'cause it was getting away from the beauty of basketball.

Bird and laimbeer go at it.

We weren't the league's favorite.

We weren't the pretty team

that had got invited to the Lakers' and celtics' party.

When we showed up,

it was almost like we were crashing their party.

This is the way the game of basketball was played at the time.

These guys on the other side may not be as talented,

but when you do come to Detroit, you gonna get your ass whooped.

We've got a fight.

Laimbeer and daugherty really going after it...

We just basically just, "okay, we're the bad boys."

We just started feeding into it.

Next thing you know, we starting to win, win, win.

It's over. Detroit wins.

The pistons had overtaken the celtics

as kings of the eastern conference,

and they're rolling along

just as the bulls are really starting to emerge.

In '86-'87, when Jerry krause made a head coaching hire,

I think we all felt that we needed something different.

This speaks to Jerry's strengths.

He identified a young Doug Collins,

who he felt would bring an energy and enthusiasm that a young team needed.

This is a game that we're gonna have to go out and have high energy.

We have a high energy level.

Win tonight, we got tomorrow off, so you can spend all night in Los Angeles

doing whatever you want to do tonight. I don't care.

Othennise, we got practice tomorrow afternoon.

Dougie was a breath of fresh air, you know.

He believed in everything that I believed in. He wanted to win.

He was an easy guy, great guy to play for.

Welcome, sports fans. This is the Chicago sports casino.

Bet, bet, bet, bet, bet, bet.

But we know why he win.

- He got kids. - Kids, that's right.

Doug's energy on the sideline was unparalleled.

He'd walk off the floor after a game, and he would be drenched in sweat.

I mean, he looked like he played.

Let's make sure, above all, we get some rest.

Detroit, we're 1-and... 4 against those.

And it's on national TV, and I want to beat those guys on Sunday.

So let's get ready to go.

- All right, let's go. - Yeah!

The year before I came,

the bulls had been eliminated by Boston in the playoffs.

The ball game is over.

The series goes to Boston in three stra/ght.

The final score, 722-704, celtics.

The roster was a little thin at that time.

I'd seen Michael play, but I really never had spent any time around him.

Number 34, Charles oakley

Our second best player at the time was Charles oakley,

who was a vicious rebounder, brought a lot of toughness.

You know, John paxson was on that team, Dave corzine.

And their head coach, Doug col/ins.

The first game I coached, we went to Madison square garden.

And the Knicks had Patrick ewing, bill Cartwright, and they were loaded.

Hubie brown, the hall of fame coach.

Two minutes to go in the game. The game was tied.

I'm soaking wet with sweat.

I chewed my gum to a powder. It's around my mouth.

And I saw this hand come out with a cup of water,

and it was Michael Jordan.

And he looked at me, and he said, "coach, take a drink of that water,

clean that stuff off your mouth.

I'm not gonna let you lose your first game."

Here is Jordan again.

All alone.

Turns, off the glass.

Forty-two points for Michael Jordan.

7'en seconds on the shot clock.

Rory sparrow working on him.

Jordan to the basket, scores.

And he went out and scored the last ten points of the game,

ended up with 50.

Michael Jordan setting a new Madison square garden record

for an opposing player ton/ght, scoring 50 points.

And the Chicago Bulls make Doug col/ins a winner his first time out,

and it is a happy Doug Collins on the far side.

I remember being on the plane going back to Chicago.

I said, "wow, I mean, this guy is something like I've never seen before."

Doug and I were like this, you know.

He'd design an offense to support the way I played the game

and the way he wanted to coach.

It's all right, Michael. It's all right.

I think he loved my competitiveness.

He understands that the greatest respect you can give a great player

is to coach him and coach him hard.

Michael's big thing was,

"stack the practice against me, and I'll still win."

Doug always tried to maintain a competitive advantage in practice.

I'd be with the starting five...

And then, next thing you know, in the middle of us winning,

he'd put me with the second team.

But there was one day at practice, he got upset,

thought I was cheating on the score.

And he got upset and left practice.

And we came back the next day, and they were asking,

"have you talked to Michael since practice yesterday?"

I said, "really haven't had a chance to... we will."

And about that time, Michael came out,

and I reached over, and I grabbed him, and I kissed him on the cheek.

I said, "I love him, he loves me."

Would you come here a second so we can kiss on TV here, please?

- There we go. - Would you... would you...

Would you tell them everything is fine?

- Aw. - Okay, we've kissed and made up now.

I coached him for three years. From the '86-'87 season through '88-'89.

When I was coaching him, he was the mvp of the league...

He was the mvp of the all-star game...

Michael Jordan.

He won the slam-dunk competition...

And he was the defensive player of the year.

Pass stolen by Jordan. Michael Jordan takes it coast-to-coast.

I/I/hoo/

that's greatness, you know. I mean, he was now the best player.

Michael on a breakaway. For the two/

a two-hand dunk by Jordan.

There's Jordan, goes in for a dunk/

Jordan gets in.

Basket counts, and the foul/

Jordan's got the ball.

Jordan getting around Scott, and he slam dunks/

j“ all hail the new king in town j“

From the left. He got it swatted out of the air by Jordan.

Michael on a breakaway.

J“ young and old, gather around j“

J“ black and white, red and green j“

j“ oh, yeah, funkyj“

j“ the funkiest man you've ever seen j“

j“ tell you what his name is j“

j“ partyman, partyman j“

j“ rock a party like nobody can j“

They go to chambers.

Jordan has him and pops the ball away, 6 to shoot.

Jordan popped it a way again and makes the steal.

J“ partyman j“

j“ party people, say it now j“

j“ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah j“

I/I/hoa/

j“ somebody hol/a if you want to party j“

I'ahohj"

j“ partyman, partyman j“

j“ young and old, gather round j“

j“ everybody hail the new king in town j“

Under Doug Collins, the bulls were rapidly improving,

and suddenly becoming a real contender in the eastern conference.

Detroit was certainly, at the time, the team to beat in the east,

but who was going to be their challenger?

Who was going to really rise up and challenge Detroit?

It was going to be one of two teams.

The bulls were in ascension, obviously, at that time

with their young core of Jordan and pippen and Horace Grant.

But Cleveland was, at the time, a great team.

So these are the two rising teams in the east.

The bulls were going to play Cleveland in '89

in a best three of five.

Most basketball observers believed Cleveland was better.

Nobody has picked the bulls.

Everybody in the media, we picked cavs, everybody's picked nationally, the cavs.

Back then, we played teams six times in our division.

They beat us six times, 6-0.

So now, in our mind, we got nothing to lose.

Bulls win the first game,

and then, Cleveland wins the second in Cleveland.

We go back to Chicago. Bulls win game three.

Chicago wins in 707-94.

Game four, Jordan's got a free throw at the end of regulation... misses.

Ll/lissed it. The cavaliers have kept their hopes alive.

We go back to Cleveland for game five.

And welcome to richfl'e/d coliseum for game five

between the Chicago Bulls and the c/e ve/and cavaliers.

Up to that time, the franchise,

the history of the bulls was blowing leads.

And you're like, “oh, my god. This is gonna happen again.

They're gonna do this. They're gonna blow this.

They're gonna lose the series to Cleveland."

So the game's about to start, and there was two other beat writers.

Beat writer from the sun-times, Lacy banks,

and Kent mcdill from the herald, and me.

And Lacy's picked cavs to sweep in three,

Kent's picked the cavs to win in four, and I've picked the cavs to win in five.

So, Michael... The game's just about to start,

and Michael walks over to Lacy and points and says,

"we took care of you."

Then he looks at Kent, and he says, "we took care of you."

Then he looks at me and, "we take care of you today."

Caught by Ron Harper in the backcourt, and the y're underway.

C/e ve/and has it.

We went back and forth the whole time.

Jordan against Harper. Great turnaround

And it was a very tough game.

This is the playoffs,

and here we have two great teams right here,

guys that lay it out.

It was a constant battle.

We have had drama here in the final minutes of the game.

Eleven seconds to go. In the middle of the floor.

Jordan has it,

and Jordan puts up a jumper and hits with six seconds to go.

Jordan hits the basket and now has 42 points in the game.

And the cavaliers have called a time-out.

Eh/o will inbound he gets it into Nance.

Gets the ball back, drives to the hoop, lays it in with three seconds to go.

Here's our story here at richfie/d coliseum.

One of these teams will advance.

It has been a thrilling game.

7'he bulls have three seconds to try a shot and try to win the game.

Everybody knew where the ball was gonna go.

You know, they had Craig ehlo on me at the time,

which, in all honesty, was a mistake.

Because the guy that played me better was Ron Harper.

We up by one.

I said, "coach, I got mj. I got mj."

So the coach tells me, "I'm gonna put ehlo on mj."

And I'm like...

"Yeah, okay, whatever. Fuck this bullshit."

We drew a play where I was coming to the ball...

But I only had time enough to get one dribble and get a jump shot off.

We were gonna live and die with that scenario.

So I was doing everything I can to get the ball.

The inbounds pass comes in to Jordan.

Here's ll/lichae/ at the foul line. A shot on ehlo... good/

the bulls win it/ they win it/

and Chicago has knocked off the ca vs, 707 - 700.

Michael! Michael, you stuck it, baby!

Michael, you stuck it, baby! You stuck it!

Yeah!

I feel very vindicated from when we started the playoffs,

with the damn look that everybody was giving us.

Even I asked you in the locker room, I asked everybody,

you know, what was the feeling back in Chicago?

Did the writers talk yet?

And you said some of them have written us off.

I said, "well, tell those guys to stay home."

Somebody had written or said that the bulls were going to go home,

send them home.

And so, when he hits the shot, "go home, motherfuckers, go home."

Get the fuck out of here.

Go fuckin' anywhere, but you're out of here.

Whoever's not with us, all you fuckers go to hell.

Jordan beat 'em at the buzzer with a jump shot in the circle.

It was so dramatic, and it was typical

of what we would see Michael do the rest of his career in big moments.

That shot enabled the bulls to start growing

and believing that something special was on the horizon.

We finally got over the hump of the losers' mentality.

We were starting to become a winning franchise.

And you know, the sky was the limit.

How h/gh can this man fiy?

Michael Jordan is soaring,

and the Chicago Bulls are going fight with him.

But now, Superman faces his toughest test,

as we bring you the first game of the eastern conference championsh/p

between the underdog Chicago Bulls and the favored Detroit pistons.

The NBA was invested in making Michael Jordan its star.

The pistons were... slowing that down.

We knew how important to the NBA it was to get Michael to go to the next level.

The blueprint was Larry, magic, now Michael.

And all of a sudden, there was this little team in Detroit

who just messed up the whole story.

We loved that.

Oh, I hated 'em.

And that hate carries even to this day.

They made it personal. They physically beat the shit out of us.

When we played the pistons in that series,

it was arm-to-arm physical combat.

But we never backed down. We fought them.

7'he bulls have won the first game.

So we got game one. They won game two.

We came back to Chicago.

Michael had one of the most incredible games.

Jordan, steal. He kept it inbounds.

Here it is again.

Oh/ yes/

you 'i/ see him elevate, do a 360, and just toss it up.

P/ppen finds Jordan. There it is.

Rodman is on him, one-on-one.

Five seconds to go. Jordan off the glass... oh/

it's over! Chicago wins!

That was get the ball to Michael, everybody get the fuck out of the way...

And go to the basket.

Jordan pretty much took over the game,

made all the big field goals down the stretch.

Show like the... showed the superstar that he really is.

We knew Michael Jordan was the greatest player,

and we tried to use it as a rallying cry to come together.

We had to do everything, from a physicality standpoint,

to stop him.

Detroit had "Jordan rules" just for Michael.

I don't know how he came out of it alive.

The infamous Jordan rules,

the pistons' defensive tactics des/gned to contain their namesake,

are enforced whenever Michael is on the floor.

When he was in the air, we had no shot,

uh, but you know, when everything was on the floor,

you can hold your own.

You have to stop him before he takes flight,

'cause, you know, he's not human.

Michael Jordan fouled

Jordan... foul.

Jordan again pushed

Here again, the implementation of the Jordan rules.

7'he pistons will even it up at two-apiece.

The story of this game, the Detroit defense.

This is what the Jordan rules were.

On the wings, we were going to push him to the elbow,

and we're not going to let him drive to the baseline.

Number two, when he's on top, we're going to influence him to his left.

When he got the ball in the low post, we were gonna trap him from the top.

That's the Jordan rules, and it was that simple.

That's when laimbeer and mahorn would go up knock him down to the ground.

As soon as he steps in the paint... Hit him.

Chuck daly said, "this is the Jordan rule.

Every time he go to the fuckin' basket, put him on the ground."

When he comes to the basket, he ain't gonna duck.

We're gonna hit you, and you're gonna be on the ground.

Jordan was still down.

We're trying to physically hurt Michael.

Jordan had no place to go.

Clobbered

How bad do you want it?

Are you willing to be injured to score a basket?

And the pistons want to make Jordan pay

whenever he gets in the paint.

And the referees back then

didn't look to see if Michael was hurt or not.

It wasn't make sure that the savior is okay.

That wasn't the way it is.

It is over at the palace!

The pistons have beaten the bulls.

I could compare Michael Jordan to nobody

because for him to survive that and still maintain that greatness,

I mean, it's very unparalleled.

We were not ready for the Detroit pistons at that point in time.

They were more physical than us. Uh, they were the aggressors.

Detroit had our number.

The Detroit pistons, by virtue of a 703-94 victory,

have eliminated the bulls and indeed are headed for the final.

Unfortunately for the bulls, the story was the same...

Control Michael, and the win is yours.

We did not have, as a unit,

the confidence that we felt like we needed to beat Detroit.

And the game's over,

and the pistons have won the world championship.

They're going down in the record books

as one of the greatest defensive teams ever in the history of this league.

It seems that, in sports, there's always that one team

that you have to overcome,

and you almost build your team to beat them.

And unequivocally, for the bulls, it was the pistons.

A friend of Dennis rodman was worried enough

about the piston's whereabouts overnight that he called 911 to initiate a search.

Police found rodman at the palace early this morning in auburn hills.

Rodman had taken his legally registered rifle with him.

His mood characterized as despondent.

I'm here.

That's Dennis at about 8:00 this morning,

trying to assure reporters that he's fine,

that he's not on the verge of an emotional breakdown,

and that he did nothing out of the ordinary,

at least for him.

The report that we had is, uh, that he took a gun,

had a gun in his truck.

Uh, have you heard that? Can you confirm that?

I've heard that, yeah. That's all I know.

I had a gun in my hand, like, on the front seat.

Luckily, I fell asleep, and the cops came and got me.

I was at a lost place at that time.

Just a lost place.

That time in my life, I think that was a wake-up call and a rescue call.

Last night may have been the last time

we see Dennis rodman in a pistons uniform.

Dennis rodman used to be a piston. Ehh... he's out of there.

The I/I/orm is nowa spur, traded for Sean Elliott and David wood

Dennis goes to San Antonio, and then demolition ll/lan comes out,

and he changes his hair color.

That's me, that's Dennis rodman.

I'm not trying to please anybody.

And then, Madonna goes, "he's cute," and they started seeing each other.

Madonna explained to him,

"you have to establish who you want to be in this life.

Don't be who they tell you you should be."

He started realizing he can push to any boundary,

and that's a freedom.

People that write the things in the paper don't really know Dennis rodman.

They don't even talk to me,

so they just have to write something that's crazy and stupid

to make me look like an asshole.

I just want to do something that makes me feel like I'm free,

that I can go do anything I want to do.

What does it mean... the outfits, the tattoos, the sunglasses,

the... the velvet hat, the rings, the St...

Why?

I like doing what I'm doing.

It's making me happy, making me feel like I'm a ten-year-old kid.

Can I ask you to do one thing for me before we leave this interview?

- Take off the hat and let me see that. - Why am I...

Take off the hat and let me see what color it is.

It's no color.

You know, I've been pretty much lazy and just the hell with it.

I'm thinking about shaving it off.

I wanted no part of Dennis.

Didn't want anything to do with him.

And Jimmy stack, who was my assistant at that point,

came to me and said, "let's talk about rodman."

I said, "no, I don't want to talk about rodman."

And he said, "jer, I've done some homework.

I really felt like I had a different perspective on Dennis.

By Dennis rodman, who already has a t.

Gets another one, and out he goes.

Dennis was acting out in San Antonio,

but I just felt like the structure that we had

with Michael and scottie and the leadership,

Dennis would respect those guys and play and thrive.

If we had not had Michael and scottie

and the people in that locker room, we would have never taken Dennis.

And if Phil had not been the coach, I don't think we'd have taken him.

Uh, because I knew that Phil could handle him.

It was awful.

I walk into Jerry krause's house.

He's sitting on the couch.

He's got a poor boy hat over his eyes,

he's got the rings in his nose and his mouth,

and he doesn't stand up to meet me.

So I said, "stand up, Dennis. Take your hat off, shake hands.

Let's go outside and talk."

We had to break bread then at the house, so basically said,

"Dennis, you want to come play for the bulls?"

I said, "I don't care. Whatever, what's up?“

last week, the bulls announced the acquisition of a player

many people consider

the most controversial basketball star in the NBA.

He is Dennis rodman, one of the best rebounders in NBA history.

Is it one of the shrewdest moves the bulls have ever made,

or one of the dumbest?

There was this visceral reaction to rodman.

Rodman was at the center of the most hated team

in the history of Chicago.

We all thought, well, there's no way they would ever accept him.

Like, even if they sign him, they'll never accept him. You know.

And to their credit, Jordan and pippen especially say,

"hey, he can help us win. You know, we know how tough he is."

J“ yeah j“

Like a hand in a glove.

Dennis was a dominant defensive player,

and what Dennis brought was exactly what we needed,

somebody who gave us that edge on the front line.

J“ who is the man comin' down your block? J“

j“ it's me you see with the funk in my walk j“

j“ 'cause I'm doin ' just what / like to j“

j“ today is my day, yeah and I'ma get nice too... j“

if he do his job, then we're gonna love him.

Play basketball, and win. That's it.

That's what he did.

J“ I am the maestro j“

j“ yeah, you motherfuckers j“

j" I'm all that I”

j“ lsee you lookin'at me sayin'j“

j“ how can he be so skinny and live so phat? J“

j“ you know why, 'cause I'm... j“

Dennis is one of the smartest guys I played with.

He understood defensive strategy with all the rotations,

he had no limits, you know, in terms of what he does.

He could guard multiple players.

He studied each guy. He knew players' strengths and weaknesses.

Rodman, the interception.

Dennis knows how to play his role well.

He has a great understanding of what it takes to win.

He's a huge reason for our success.

J“ who is the man? Who is the man? J“

j“ who is the man? Who is the man? J“

j“ ll/laestro j“

You know I was just kidding.

I know. You gave me a good article the other day.

- I appreciate that. - Which one?

The one that you said, "quit worrying about what he's gonna do

and live for the present.

Don't worry about next year. Leave him alone.

Quit asking stupid questions about what's happening."

I'm sick of it, too.

I'm tired of it. I'm totally tired of it.

I'm gonna stop talking to y'all.

Just say, "next question."

I mean, y'all guys, you guys don't do it anymore, but it's on the road.

That's what kills me, man.

It's got to be a little draining... every city, it's like,

"is it Michael's last game?" And everything that's going on with that.

Is it wearing on you a little? Does it wear on you a little bit?

Yeah, it gets old.

Questions don't change, and the answer's pretty much the same.

Wouldn't it be nice if bulls fans could enjoy this title run

without worrying that it could be the final running of the bulls?

More questions in that vein for Michael Jordan today.

Have you said this is your last year?

Is this your last outing in the bay area?

Is it your last season?

You get a sense it's Michael's final run as a bull?

Is tonight your last time here?

Should he retire?

It's his decision.

We're required to ask every game if you're gonna retire.

You're gonna get the same answer.

Although I may have the same answers, I've practiced them quite a bit.

I don't know. I don't know.

You never know. You never know.

Beats me.

This may be the last time, last dance, whatever, but...

I'm not focusing on that. I'm just focusing on the moment.

You enjoy the moment, you know, enjoy the game.

And whatever happens for this organization, you know,

at the end of the season, happens.

What happens after that happens.

I think people, or the media, basically, are trying to redirect

or trying to change some kind of little emphasis within the question

to see if my answers change, you know, and my response don't change.

So what about next year, Michael?

You guys are... I love you guys.

Excuse me.

Okay, everybody, let's go meet the sniff brothers.

These are the sniff brothers over here.

There's Gus sniff, ct sniff, Calvin sniff, Tom sniff...

- John Michael sniff. - John Michael sniff...

- George sniff. - These are all the sniff brothers.

They take care of Michael over here.

Sniff brothers are Michael's security guys.

A sniff brother is actually a jock sniffer...

So we used to say everybody who was sniffing Michael's jocks

are all those guys who would always be around.

He's the general sniff right here. Brigadier general Gus sniff.

Brigadier general?

Come on, man, y'all get out of here. We got a heated debate.

We got a heated debate about the president.

- Y'all got to get out of here. - Oh, oh.

He'll be running the country next week.

You got it? He's gonna be running the country.

If the president had sniff brothers,

he wouldn't have this problem.

That'll pay for my fine, see?

See what I'm saying?

All people that's in the business are quirky, too.

I'm letting you know now.

That was Craig sager gave me 20 bucks to pay for my fine.

- Sounds like a bribe... reporter. - That's what I'm saying.

He's just saying hi.

- Thank you so much. - Here you go.

They love you so much.

Entertainment... Entertainment, full-time basketball.

Oh, my god!

- Dennis! - Thank you!

Just a signature.

Yes, it's awesome.

- We love it. - Yep.

No, no. Hell, no.

Hey, dude.

Two months ago, scottie pippen said he would never play

for the Chicago Bulls again, but then he softened his stance,

saying he was looking fonnard to returning to the team,

so the question became when would he come back?

Change my mind about coming to play?

Yeah.

I just... I knew that it was probably gonna come down to

me and the team trying to play hardball,

and I would lose in that situation

because they would start to fine me probably,

so, you know, I wasn't gonna let them benefit in that way.

The bottom line is, uh,

I was willing to accept a trade if they did it,

and I knew they wasn't gonna do it.

After watching 35 games from the bench,

the bulls forward suited up at the united center ton/ght

and took the court.

Now, as for Dennis rodman, check out the newest hairstyle.

Word is that those are 33s, in tribute to p/ppen's return.

Scottie p/ppen, he played 37 minutes, and scored 72 points.

P/ppen grabbing four rebounds, dishing out five assists,

and the bulls have to feel uplifted by having p/ppen back.

When scottie wasn't there,

Dennis loved the fact that Michael needed him.

He set that screen right there...

You know, he was,

"hey, Michael, it's me and you. You know, we got this."

And then, when scottie came back, that's when they lost him.

When scottie came back and we got the three amigos again,

and I'm pretty much the third wheel of the family.

Rodman's descent became dramatic.

You know, his drinking, his partying, his connection with reality.

The thing about this, too, people don't understand,

it's just not basketball that we have to deal with on this team.

It's not just... It's the pressure of the bullshit.

You know, I'll play the game for free,

but you get paid for the bullshit after you leave the floor.

The public pressure, the media pressure.

Get that out of my face. I'm done, I'm done.

I'm not talkin', man.

No comment. How about that one?

Basketball is simple, it's a simple game,

but when you leave this... this confide zone...

It's hard. It's hard.

I got to say, I never have to prove anything to people in this country

or in this business because this business can kiss my ass.

I don't give a damn what they think about me.

Everybody understood Dennis' impact on the group,

and we understood that he had, uh, different needs

in his personal life than we did.

While scottie was out, Dennis was a model citizen

to the point where it was driving him fuckin' insane.

So, when scottie came back,

Dennis wanted to take a vacation.

I come to practice, Phil calls me in and says,

”look, you know, Dennis wants to tell you something. ”

When Dennis wants to tell me something,

I knew it's not something that I fuckin' want to hear.

So Dennis says, "I need a vacation."

And I look at Phil, say, "Phil, what do you mean, a vacation?"

He says, "he needs a vacation. He needs some time off to let loose."

I said, ”look, Phil, let me tell you something, man.

If anybody need a fuckin' vacation, I need a vacation."

He says... we look at Dennis, said, "Dennis, what are you gonna do?"

He says, ”well, I need to go to Vegas. ”

"Phil, if you let this dude go to vacation, we're not gonna see him.

You let him go to Vegas, we definitely not gonna see him."

So he looks at Dennis and says,

"Dennis, well, can your vacation be like 48 hours?"

And Dennis is like, "I got no other choice.

I'll take whatever you can give me, I'll take the 48 hours."

”Forty-e/ght hours. You got 48 hours, Dennis. ”

And I'm looking at Phil like,

"you ain't gonna get that dude back in 48 hours.

I don't care what you say. He's done."

”Oka y, 48 hours. ”

He leaves that room, goes straight to the airport.

Boom, we don't hear or see Dennis for 48 hours.

I remember that.

I went to fuckin' Vegas.

Dennis was bizarre, but I think what made it work

was Phil and Michael's understanding that,

to get the most out of him on the court, you had to give him some rope.

And they gave him a lot of rope.