There are numerous iconic stories in the NBA that involve Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman. The two were each other rivals until Rodman joined the Chicago Bulls in 1995. Interestingly, Jordan was the one who convinced the head coach despite Scottie Pippen’s warning. In his famous docuseries, Jordan spoke about the time he had to get Rodman back from his vacation in Las Vegas.
Furthermore, His Airness also revealed how once Rodman was back to practice, head coach Phil Jackson was on a mission. This was “To get Dennis back in shape.” It would be expected that a person would work solely on himself for such a thing but to everyone’s surprise – the whole Bulls team has to join in.
Notably, a training regime was constructed by Jackson and MJ had come up with a plan that the other players happily agreed to. Jordan felt like “So I’m saying, ‘Well f—, this is kind of messed up” as he thought that he was getting caught in this despite not being the one who went on the vacation. However, Rodman was the one who spoiled the plan.
While talking about the same, Jordan said, “It was like in his psyche, he needed to get away. But in all honesty, Dennis was always there.” Additionally, Jordan emphasized that Dennis was always on point. It is undeniable that Jordan and other players had to deal with Rodman’s tactics. Notably, Jordan even held him by both temples to do so. However, it is undeniable that The Worm truly left an imprint because of his performances.
Michael Jordan revealed the ‘Indian Drill’ that the Bulls followed
Michael Jordan revealed that the drill that the Bulls team started to follow to get Dennis Rodman in shape was known as the ‘Indian Drill’. He explained that everyone had to start running and Jackson would blow a whistle at any time. As soon as he would do that, the player at the back would have to run all the way to the front. Jordan added, “Now you can’t stop whoever is in front controls the pace.”
Furthermore, Jordan spoke on ‘The Last Dance‘ about how he came up with an easy way out. The 6x NBA championship winner said that whoever is at the front of the row should slow down. “Slow down to a f*king walk, we just gonna jog,” he emphasized. This way the pace would be slow for all the other players. However, when Dennis took an off, it was like boom.
*bulls doing the Indian drill*
Phil Jackson: *blows whistle*
Dennis Rodman in the back: pic.twitter.com/P2FiJYaQNz
— NickatNite🌑 (@fehn22) April 27, 2020
Jordan revealed that it took them four laps to just catch up to Rodman. That was how Rodman made everyone run for the mission of getting him back in shape. Talking about this Jordan said, “Dennis was always on point.” It is something that every fan would agree to.