Dennis Rodman says the Chicago Bulls should have won the 1999 NBA Championship

A four-year-old comment still boils my blood

Back in 2020, Dennis Rodman was on ESPN’s First Take to promote his 30 on 30. He was out of his element, and spoke as only Dennis Rodman can. Understanding this came form an old interview, it’s not fresh news. But considering this is a holiday, I thought it a good time to go back into the vault.

While generally considered a bust in San Antonio due to his attitude and bad fit with the Spurs, Rodman remains on of the greatest rebounders of all time.

As part of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons, he was part of a team that established the rough and tumble angle that eventually dethroned the Lakers and Celtics, sending legendary players into retirement.

After the Spurs, he found his role on an extremely talented Chicago Bulls team that acquired not one, but two, threepeats in the 1990s.

Rodman, known for hot takes designed to frustrate, stated:

“I wanted to win championships with these guys. I would go to war with these guys any time of the day. It was just sad in the fact that we could have come back and won a fourth championship very easily.”

His statement makes me think of this photo.

The truth is that the Chicago Bulls could have possibly swept the 90s. After watching The Last Dance, a few things come to light.

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant at the core, and Phil Jackson at the helm. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, but lost to the Pistons for the third season in a row.

Part of the reason for the Bulls failure was an injury to Michael Jordan. A deep bruise after Jordan landed hard out of a triple team in the first quarter.

Jordan stated, ‘’I think I had my legs cut out from under me. I think it’s the type of injury that can linger. I hope by Tuesday the pain will go away and I can increase my mobility.’’

Although he led the Bulls with 34 points in that game, he scored only 8 in the second half. The injury hampered him and eventually led to their 1990 demise.

Had the Bulls beaten the Pistons, they could have won in 1990.

They won their first three-peat in 1991, 1992, and 1993.

Then Jordan retired for the majority of two seasons allowing room for the Houston Rockets to win back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995.

After Jordan retuned, the Bulls three-peated again in 1996, 1997, and 1998.

And then Jordan retired again, this time opening the door for the San Antonio Spurs, along with their Rookie of the Year Tim Duncan, to nab the 1999 NBA Finals.

Rodman says the Bulls would have taken a fourth title in 1999 “very easily,” while many pundits refer to it as a clash of titans, saying a Spurs/Bulls matchup would have been one for the ages.

If not for an injury to Jordan in 1990, perhaps the Bulls could have upset the Pistons. Considering the two three-peats, it is also a safe assumption that had Michael Jordan not retired, the Bulls could have won at least eight in a row though the 90s.

But could they have won all ten years?

After seeing The Last Dance and how the Bulls were unraveling interiorly, it isn’t safe to say the Bulls would have beat the Spurs.

Or another way to look at it — is it wise to side with Dennis Rodman?

Yeah, I don’t think so either.

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