The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time - Elliott Kalb [73]
Rodman got into the head of opposing players, particularly Utah’s great power forward Karl Malone. Rodman helped the Bulls defeat Malone’s Jazz in both the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.
Dennis Rodman did all the dirty work, guarding everyone from Michael Jordan to Karl Malone to Shaquille O′Neal. He created extra possessions and shot attempts for his teammates, while needing few (if any) of his own. He successfully played alongside greats of the game like Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Shaquille O′Neal, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and Steve Nash, helping each of them to elevate their respective games.
ECIDENCE AGAINST A CONSPIRACY
One argument some people make is that Rodman played in only 911 games, about 2/3 the amount most Hall of Famers play. But the real argument is that he played only one side of the court. I counter that by saying that many players were mere offensive weapons and some of those players, like Dominique Wilkins, are in the Hall. Dennis’ offensive rebounding more than made up for his lack of scoring.
Detractors will say that Rodman was a specialist and not really a Hall of Fame caliber player, even though a field goal kicker (Jan Stenerud) is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Harmon Killebrew (a great power hitter but a defensive liability at several positions) is in Baseball’s Hall. Even for those who say that Dennis was a one-trick pony, you have to agree it was a pretty good trick.
MY OPINION
People remain unsettled and scared of Dennis. I spoke with several team executives who took a pass on answering when I asked if they thought Rodman was worthy of the Hall of Fame. I remain puzzled by the lack of support Rodman must be getting in those closed door meetings. He played the game with a ferocious intensity, and could frustrate the greatest of players, like Karl Malone. It is my belief that there is a conspiracy, perhaps to spare the league the spectacle that Rodman’s enshrinement would bring. Maybe Rodman burned too many bridges, with the wrong executives, media members, and past Hall of Famers who now determine his Hall of Fame fate.
While I’m thinking about it, there has to be a reason that someone else isn’t in basketball’s Hall of Fame, too. For more than forty years, reporter Pete Vecsey has covered the NBA with the tenacity that Walt Frazier displayed in guarding Jerry West, or Dennis Johnson in blanketing Andrew Toney. Vecsey, mainly through the New York tabloids (first the Daily News, later the Post), has brought inside basketball information to the masses through his “Hoop du Jour” column.
Does anyone else see that while Vecsey prepares legal briefs for worthy former players like the late Dennis Johnson to make the Hall of Fame, there has been no one to point out the absurdity of absurdities—Vecsey’s own absence from the Hall?
Pete Vecsey belongs in the Hall of Fame as a contributor, just like longtime Laker broadcaster Chick Hearn. Vecsey was born roughly the same year as newest Hall of Famer, Coach Van Chancellor of the LSU Lady Tigers. Which individual has done more to advance the game of basketball? Which person served as the voice, the conscience, and the watchdog of the National Basketball Association for over four decades?
Since 1990, there have been prestigious Curt Gowdy Media Awards presented each year to a print reporter who has made a significant contribution to the game of basketball. I can count exactly four men of the seventeen recipients who belong in the same discussion as Vecsey. Sam Goldaper (New York Times), Leonard Lewin (New York Post), and Leonard Koppett (New York Times) were enshrined in consecutive years beginning in 1992. Bob Ryan (Boston