Dennis Rodman is close — he is on the list of players being considered for induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
That should happen. Not just because of what would promise to be a spectacular induction speech (not to mention post-induction party) but because the man deserves it. Scottie Pippen (already a Hall member) agrees, as he told NBA.com.“We all watched Dennis’ career and we know just how good he was as a basketball player,” Pippen said. “I think we all got caught up in his antics, and things he did away from the game, and it sort of disrespected or took attention away from what he did on the basketball court. But he is surely a Hall of Famer.”
“I want to hope the people who voted to get me in saw the same thing that I saw in an opponent and as a teammate,” Pippen said. “That would be a player who had a very high IQ, played at a very high level and at the end of the day proved to be one of the best who ever played the game.”
Rodman excelled at one of the most important parts of the game — he was as good a rebounder as the game has ever seen. Rodman grabbed 23.4 percent of the available rebounds when he was on the floor for his career — nearly one in four. For comparison, Dwight Howard’s career average is 20.7 percent.
Rodman was also one of the better defenders in the game in his era — seven times being named to the NBA all defensive team — and he has five championship rings. Pippen is right, Rodman deserves the call.
