The 1980s was one of the most intense eras in NBA history. A more physical sport at the time, basketball was more than just the 48 minutes the players spent running up and down the court. More often than not personal vendettas became part of the game. And, at the time, the most famous rivalry was between the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. The two teams hated each other, and one of the players who irked many an opponent was Dennis Rodman. In fact, in the book The Jordan Rules, it was revealed that Michael Jordan, the leader of the Bulls once blasted Rodman’s defense, five years before welcoming him to the roster.

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The rivalry between the Pistons and the Bulls is legendary. In particular, it stemmed from the feud between MJ and Pistons legend Isiah Thomas. The two never liked each other, and Jordan specifically disliked Thomas, whom he believed led a freeze out against him during the 1985 All-Star Game. This obviously led to some very entertaining matchups between the two teams.

Michael Jordan once wrote off Dennis Rodman’s defensive ability five years before welcoming him to the Chicago Bulls

Michael Jordan has always had a problem with the Detroit Pistons. They were the one team that gave MJ a lot of trouble during his early years with the Bulls. At the height of their rivalry, Jordan’s Bulls ended up losing to the Pistons in the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals. A loss that scarred His Airness for quite a while.

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However, that’s not to say that the six-time NBA Champion wasn’t vocal about his hatred for the Pistons beforehand. MJ was not shy about blasting the Pistons players. And, five years before he teamed up with Dennis Rodman on the Bulls, he took a shot at The Worm, criticizing his defense in Sam Smith’s book, The Jordan Rules.

Jordan claimed that Rodman was a flopper. Going so far as to state that he would just fall down to try and get calls. A tactic he suggested shouldn’t be categorized as “good defense”. Nevertheless, it was effective and even got Jordan to foul out back in the 1988-89 season during one of their heated face-offs.

“But Jordan didn’t care much for Rodman’s play. ‘He’s a flopper,’ Jordan would say disdainfully. ‘He just falls down and tries to get the calls. That’s not good defense.’ Rodman once ‘flopped’ so effectively back in the 1988–89 season that Jordan drew six fouls in the fourth quarter to foul out in the last minute of a close loss to the Pistons.”

It certainly was an interesting time in MJ’s career. Just going off their interactions on the court, one would have never guessed they would join forces years later. But, all’s well that end’s well, especially seeing that they won three championships together between 1996 and 1998.

Despite calling Rodman an ‘a**hole’, Jordan knew he needed him on the Bulls

The tension between Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman was at an all-time high before he joined the Bulls. Jordan hated The Worm so much that he even referred to him as an ‘a**hole’. Speaking in an interview, MJ believed that Rodman and his former Pistons teammate Bill Laimbeer tried their best to live up to their image of “a**holes”.

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However, years later, even he had to bow down to Rodman’s defensive prowess and even supported the Bulls’ decision to acquire his fellow Hall of Famer for $2.5 million.

Together, both Jordan and Rodman, along with Scottie Pippen went on to achieve greatness. Turning the Chicago Bulls from a great basketball team to an NBA dynasty.

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