Stars like Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan handled Dennis Rodman ’s bizarre style, attitude, and antics well during their time together in Detroit and Chicago, respectively. However, one player could never come to terms with The Worm’s demeanor, and that was David Robinson .
Even though Dennis was able to make his presence felt on the floor in the two years he shared the frontcourt with the 7’1” center for the San Antonio Spurs , the disconnect between them was so evident that Robinson couldn’t resist calling Rodman ‘devil’ on his face.
Rodman’s awkward plane ride with Robinson
The 6’7” forward joined the Spurs in 1993 after winning two DPOY titles and leading the league in rebounds for two consecutive seasons. Rodman lived up to his hype and proved to be a rebounding beast in both of his seasons with San Antonio. He led the league in rebounds and averaged 5.6 points per game, particularly impressive considering he attempted 4.2 field goals per game.
Despite his impressive showing, Rodman never meshed well with ‘The Admiral,’ be it on the court or off it. One clear reason was their contrasting personalities — while Dennis was a hardcore bad boy who liked to bully his opponents and get under their skin, the 1995 MVP was cordial and humble with his teammates and opponents.
But it just wasn’t their playing styles or attitudes that clashed. From the very beginning, the two All-Stars were awkward around each other, and one particular plane ride really showed it.
"From the very beginning, they were an awkward pairing. Dennis says that one time, on the team plane, Robinson interrupted Dennis while he was playing Nintendo with a teammate," Mychal Denzel Smith wrote in a GQ article. "(Rodman) said, 'David? Why you looking at me?' He said, 'Why you got to be the Devil all the time?' I said, 'What? The Devil? What are you talking about?' He said, 'You just got to be different from everybody.'"
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The duo came close to winning a title together
In their first season together, the Spurs got knocked out in the first round by the Utah Jazz. But in the 1994-95 season, they turned things around, becoming one of the top five defensive teams, thanks to the Worm leading the league in rebounds.
On offense, they were the fifth best, with the 10-time All-Star putting up 27.1 points per game. The Spurs ended the season with a 62-20 record and made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets 4-2.
Safe to say, only if Rodman and Robinson had won a championship together, it would have gone down in history as the most awkward pairing ever to clinch the silverware.
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