It was a rarity for someone to get the better of defensive maestro Dennis Rodman during his career, but that's exactly what Larry Bird managed to do. Unlike many others who tried but ultimately failed, "Larry Legend" cracked the code on the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, which still bothers "The Worm" today.
Rodman sat down with Basketball Time Machine and recalled how he was unable to slow down the Boston Celtics forward during his prime.
"I tried my best to guard Larry Bird, and it didn't work too well. He kind of schooled me the whole game. Every game we played, he said, 'Dennis, are you guarding me? Take that for you.' And I was like, 'Okay, I will take that, Larry.' He made a jump shot and said, 'Dennis, do you like that?' I said, 'Man, to hell with you. Don't worry about it.' After I had a couple of years in the NBA under my belt, I said, 'Okay, great, I belong in this league.' All of a sudden, Larry Bird started to respect me," the Hall of Famer said.
Daly's trust in Rodman
To his credit, Rodman understood that no one would give him anything when he entered the league and that he'd have to earn everything he got when he saw time on the floor.
Obviously, guarding Bird was a humbling experience that reset the standard Dennis felt he needed to reach to uncover his potential as a defensive stopper. The legendary forward was also fortunate that coach Chuck Daly gave him a chance, seeing greatness in Rodman perhaps even before he saw it in himself when it came to matching up with the best in the league.
"Chuck Daly saw I was so loose and had so much energy that I could go for 48 minutes per game and guard anybody in the world. He put the trust in me, and I always told Chuck, 'Let me play; I will do anything you want me to do.' He said, 'Go out and guard Larry Bird,' and I didn't know at that point who Larry was. I just thought he was a white guy in the NBA. The more I got to play Larry Bird, I had to figure out this game belongs to Dennis Rodman when it comes to defense and rebounding. That was my determination to go out and stop the best player on each team," he said.
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Dennis wasn't alone
Rodman shouldn't feel bad that Bird gave him the business during his career because he joined a long list of players who were also victims of the Celtics legend's greatness.
Larry made a habit of putting together a collection of "Welcome to the NBA" moments for young players, who vividly remember the encounters in both traumatic and grateful fashion. This stems from the lessons taken away from that particular moment that enabled them to grow and prosper as their careers progressed, and Rodman was no different.
His early baptism of fire was exactly what the then Detroit Pistons forward needed to establish a baseline of how good he needed to be as a defender to not only stay in the league but thrive as a trusted stopper for whichever franchise he was fortunate enough to be featured on.
Not only did Rodman thrive on the defensive end, but he also retired as arguably the greatest individual defender to ever step foot in the league—a large part of that could be due to his early experience trying to guard Bird.
Related: Isiah Thomas faced serious backlash for his comments about Larry Bird in 1987: "I was accused of being a racist, and I'm a bad guy now"
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