The Worm Deserves It!

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's class of 2010 were announced and Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen were among them. Although they're deserving of the honor, there's one person who deserves it more and yet was not included. The Worm. I know I'm not alone in saying that Dennis Rodman is most deserving to be in the Hall of Fame, so I looked and found David Aldridge's article, Making the case for those on the outside looking in.

Here's what David said, and which I wholeheartedly agree:

It's a longshot that the Worm will ever get his day in the sun in Springfield any time soon. Too much craziness, too many dye jobs, tats and piercings, too much time in rehab, drifting from one reality to the next. But Rodman's body of work as the premier defensive power forward of his generation -- yeah, I said it -- will only grow as his antics recede from memory. A more prime candidate for a future Veterans' Committee vote has never come down the pike.


Rodman's seven seasons leading the NBA in rebounding, six seasons leading in offensive rebounding, four leading in total rebounds, seven NBA All-Defensive first team honors, two NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors and five championships with the Pistons and Bulls simply overwhelms any legitimate argument against his belonging in the Hall. It overwhelmed my initial skepticism.

A HOFer has to ace three criteria: 1) Were they dominant in their time, at their position? 2) Did they contribute to their team's winning? (That is not the same as winning championships; Wilt only won a couple of NBA rings, and no one with functioning grey matter would argue against him.) 3) Were they the clear best at any one skill (e.g., scoring, rebounding, assists, individual defense)?

How could you argue anything other than yes, yes, and yes for Rodman?

In the last 30 years, no one -- not Karl Malone, not David Robinson, not Hakeem Olajuwon, not Dikembe Mutombo, not Patrick Ewing or Ben Wallace or Tim Duncan or Dwight Howard -- has grabbed more rebounds than Rodman's 1,530 in 1991-92. Or Rodman's 1,367 in '03-'94. Or Rodman's 1,201 in '97-'98. Only Moses Malone, with 1,444 boards in 1978-79, Truck Robinson (1,288 in '77-'78), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,383 in '75-'76), Elvin Hayes (1,463 in '73-'74) and Wilt (who grabbed 1,526 boards in his final NBA season, 1972-73, at the age of 36 -- geez, the Dipper was a bad man) have numbers that compare with Rodman's in the last 40 years.

Yes, Rodman coasted on reputation in terms of man-to-man defense for many years late in his career, as referees bought into his flopping and diving much more than they should have. Yes, he dynamited the Lakers in less than one season, and even Mark Cuban had no use for him at the end. But when it came to going to get the ball, no one was Rodman's equal in his time. No one.


I say Amen, Mr. Aldridge. Amen.