Dennis Rodman Calling Out LeBron James Should Start a Whole Different Conversation Around 'The Last Dance'
By Nick Porr
The most widely-discussed debate among basketball fans is whether LeBron James or Michael Jordan is the greatest NBA player of all time. As that argument wages on, Jordan's former teammate and Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman has added his two cents.
When talking to Overtime in a video released Friday, Rodman was asked if he could defend James. Rodman's answer was a resounding "yes."
Although the assertion that James has no moves is somewhat absurd, Rodman's answer may not be totally wrong. Dennis Rodman was undeniably one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, and he has a track record of putting the clamps on all-time greats.
For all his off court exploits, Rodman put the work in. He studied his opponents' game closely, learning everything about them down to the different spin on each player's jump shot.
The idea that you can either rebound or you can't or that rebounding is only about effort is not true. @dennisrodman studied rebounding down to a science, much like @RealBillRussell #rebounding pic.twitter.com/qCCjQuayom
— Caleb R. Graves (@coachgravesbb) April 28, 2020
The ESPN documentaryThe Last Dance, which follows the Chicago Bulls' 1997-1998 title run, has highlighted these talents of Rodman's and reminded NBA fans that he is GOAT material on the defensive end.
Rodman's LeBron comments have opened the door to a whole new discussion about Jordan and LeBron's offensive ablities and differences in thier games.
To Rodman's credit, when counting the number of times the clamps were put on MJ, there's only the "Bad Boy Pistons," which took a whole team's effort. LeBron, on the other hand, has been exposed by guys Andre Igoudala and Patrick Beverley.
Most notably, Igoudala won a Finals MVP award in 2015 for his work defending James. Maybe Rodman has a point after all.