ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary had already captured the collective attention of the sports world even before Sunday night’s episode three focused on Dennis Rodman. Always a fascinating figure, Rodman captivated audiences for the full 60 minutes, but it was the final segment that really left a mark on viewers.
In a story untold before Sunday, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan shared on Rodman’s impromptu vacation to Las Vegas. An enigmatic character, Rodman had battled through a grueling opening half of the season as the second option to Jordan with Pippen on the sideline injured. But upon Pippen’s return, Rodman summoned Jordan and Jackson for an unorthodox request of an in-season vacation.
Rodman eventually negotiated down to a 48-hour trip to Vegas that lasted twice as long before Jordan himself pulled Rodman out of his hotel room bed and escorted him back to the team. Everything about the story was bizarre, including the fact that Rodman missed multiple games during his week-long hiatus.
Pippen returned against the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 10 and the Bulls’ big three played for five games together through Jan. 18 against Houston. Rodman then embarked on his trip to Vegas with the Bulls not scheduled to play again until Jan. 21, leading to the logic behind the 48-hour window suggested by Jackson.
But Rodman did not arrive for that contest, a home game against the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets, who would later relocate to New Orleans before rebranding as the Pelicans and returning the franchise’s nickname and history back to Charlotte in the mid-2000s, were a respectable 23-16 on the year before meeting the Bulls.
Jordan showcased his typical dominance with 33 points while Pippen had 14 points as the Bulls obliterated the Hornets, 110-79. Charlotte’s leading scorer, Glen Rice, was held well below his 22.3 points per game average on the night as he shot just 4-of-18 from the field for 10 points.
Two nights later, the Bulls travel to New Jersey where they came away with a two-point overtime win behind 32 points from Jordan and 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from Pippen. With Rodman absent, New Jersey’s Jayson Williams finished with 23 points and 23 rebounds.
Chicago then flew back home while Jordan made his trip to Vegas to locate Pippen and bring him back to the team. In his first game back from the multi-day escapade in Utah, Rodman played 34:14 and grabbed 14 rebounds without scoring in a 101-94 loss to Utah.
Rodman did not miss another game the rest of the regular season or playoffs. In the final 40 games of the regular season, Rodman averaged 36.2 minutes per game before playing 34.4 minutes per game in the playoffs.
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