Dennis Rodman

The Detroit Pistons picked up Rodman in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft. Coach Chuck Daly already had a team with aggressive players, and Rodman, whether they knew it or not, fit right in. In no time at all the Pistons took control of the league, winning back-to-back national championships in 1989 and 1990. Rodman garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1990 and 1991, and it seemed that he'd found his groove.

Then the team began to disband, and when some of Rodman's teammates were traded, he became skeptical of the whole business aspect of basketball. He was vocal about the way the NBA handled its players, telling the St. Louis Post Dispatch that "this business is rotten." He would shortly leave the Pistons and head back to his home state to play for the San Antonio Spurs, where he helped yet another team make it to the playoffs, again leading the league in rebounding (1993-95).

On the heels of his disenchantment with the National Basketball Association, Rodman seems to have been unable to deal with the pressures and reality of the game. Regardless of whether or not he believed that once he got to the pros it would be all roses, he began cultivating the image of troublemaker once he had announced his frustration with the system. While dyeing his hair, getting tattoos and piercings were not a reason to label Rodman a problem, he voiced his problems with the league in front of the media, and he began to act out, getting into altercations with referees (at one point headbutting a referee and getting suspended from the league for eleven games), and interrupting the play of his teammates with unnecessary technical fouls.

In 1995, Rodman was traded to the Chicago Bulls for Will Perdue, and for three seasons he continued his superlative play in the Windy City as a rebounder for Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Here he would earn another championship ring (1997). But his off-the-court persona was growing rapidly at this time. Rodman, always in a high-profile relationship, had been dating Madonna, but broke it off when she allegedly wanted him to marry her and he refused. He picked up with Baywatch's Carmen Electra (Rodman had a guest appearance on the program), whom he married in 1998 (they would divorce shortly thereafter).