Rodman could have a place here, after all
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, September 29



There are exactly 18.7 reasons why Dennis Rodman thinks he can play in the NBA again.

The Worm is much older now, less energetic and physically not what he used to be. But that doesn't change the fact that 13 years ago, the Piston power forward led the entire league in rebounding with 18.7 boards per game.

Think about that for a second.

Last year, league MVP Kevin Garnett led the NBA in rebounding with 13.9 per game. Pistons power forward Ben Wallace led the league the year before with 15.4 per game in 2003 and 13 per game in 2000.

In 1992, Rodman averaged 18.7 rebounds per game which became the first of his seven consecutive rebounding titles. The year before, in 1991, David Robinson led he league with 13 per game.

The year after Rodman relinquished his crown, Chris Webber led the league with 13 per game in 1999. In between, Rodman averaged 16.7 per game during that seven-year stretch.

In fact, that 18.7 number was the most anyone had ever recorded on a per-game basis in 20 years.
The Worm is still talking comeback, but is anyone listening?

Eventually, Rodman became just as famous for his hair color, tattoos and wedding dresses, but he was first and foremost a rebounder. The likes the NBA had all but forgotten until he arrived and has since forgotten since he left.

Back in the day, players posted numbers in biblical fashion. Wilt Chamberlain once grabbed 55 rebounds in a single game. Bill Russell had single game totals of 51 and 49. Over his career, Chamberlain averaged 22.9 per game while Russell averaged 22.5. In one season, Chamberlain grabbed 2,149 rebounds in 1961.

Remember, Garnett grabbed 1,139 to lead the league last year. Taken over 82 games, that 1961 total would have equaled 26.2 rebounds per game. Heck, the Sonics, as a team last year, averaged only 39.3. Wallace and Tim Duncan combined averaged 24.8. Over the last three years, Shaquille O'Neal has grabbed a grand total of 2,226 boards.

Sure, there were fewer teams back in those days, fewer big men and fewer 6-foot-7 guards contending for missed shots. Nowadays, you've got LeBron James at 6-8 at the point, Mike Dunleavy at 6-9 at shooting guard, Garnett at 6-11 at small forward, Duncan at 7 feet at power forward and Yao Ming at center at 7-6.

Russell was only 6-9 in the 1960s and dominant.

Nowadays, it's team rebounding. The Cavaliers led the league last year with 45.5 per contest but had only one player rank in the Top 20 in rebounding as an individual. The Mavericks were second with 45.2 rebounds per game but didn't have a single player average more than 8.7. Instead, the Cavs and Mavs each had four different players who averaged between four and eight boards a game.

Now look at the numbers and it isn't hard to figure out why some 43-year-old former husband of Carmen Electra thinks he can play in the NBA again.

During the '70s (the rebound per game became an official stat in 1969), the league leader averaged 17 rebounds per game. In the '80s, the league leader averaged 14. In the '90s, the league leader averaged 15.7. From 2000 to 2004, the league leader has averaged only 13.9.

You can see the dip before and after Rodman.

Rebounding has lost its charm. We've got specialists now like Wallace who astounds the fans with his hustle and vigor but has averaged only 6.1 points per game over his career and is, himself, only 6-9. The 7-1 O'Neal, who has averaged an impressive 27.1 points per game over his career, has grabbed only 12.1 rebounds per game over that same career. Duncan has never averaged more than 13 in his career. Ming has never averaged more than 9.

These players are called on to do more against more varied and more capable opponents than Chamberlain and Russell but that doesn't change the fact that when Shaq retires, he may very well have averaged half as many rebounds per game as Wilt.

Of course, the game has changed. Centers have become power forwards and power forwards have become dribblers and three-point shooters. Three-point shooters have, at times, become centers. They can do amazing things. But rebounding with extreme passion isn't one of them.

Dennis Rodman knows this.

He knows that he once carved out a niche as a skilled rebounder, almost artistic, who was also willing to dive and scratch and push his way to one more rebound each and every night to once average 18.7 rebounds per game. He knows, or thinks that he knows, that he can apply those same principles in 10 or 15 minutes spans nowadays and averaged, maybe 4 or 5 a game.

Now, five rebounds a game may have not been very much to Chamberlain or Russell or even Rodman back in their days. But last year, it would have been the fourth highest average on the Nuggets.