With ESPN’s Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance” stirring up memories of the 1986 Boston Celtics and their series with the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1986 Eastern Conference Playoffs, it’s worth a look back at a similar tale of that era while we wait for a return to NBA basketball.
Former Detroit Piston Dennis Rodman appeared on the “Basketball Time Machine Podcast” last month, and spoke a bit about the series Detroit had with Boston in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals.
The two teams took the meeting to seven games that saw Rodman and Celtics guard Dennis Johnson jaw at each other constantly, and the Worm — as Rodman was called — go as far as to suggest Larry Bird was overrated because of his race.
Asked if he and the Pistons really hated Boston, Rodman instead made a surprising admission all these years later.
“I was just so green behind the ears, man, ” he started.
“I didn’t know I just want to go out there and play, but I saw [Isiah] Thomas, Joe Dumars, Rick Mahorn and … all those guys who were there before me, they hated them so much.”
He continued.
“I didn’t know the rivalry was like that until I got to participate in the first game in 1986-87, and I tried to do my best to go on Larry Bird – it didn’t work too well, he kind of schooled me a little bit. The whole game — every game — he plays it [by saying], ‘Dennis, are you guarding me?'”
Bird really dug the knife in good, even going up to the Pistons head coach at one point to ask him to send someone in who could defend him better.
Rodman would later earn Larry’s respect on the court, but the Hick from French Lick made the then-Detroit forward pay for daring to guard him so hard in his prime.
Larry was known for his trash talk, and despite the public acrimony at the time, the pair never really had any visible enmity off the court because of it.
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Rodman actually apologized for his comments about Bird soon after, which Bird related he understood in an interview with the Undefeated’s Marc Spears.
“I’ve been in them locker rooms after tough losses. There is no telling what’s said off the record, heat of the battle,” began the Indiana State product.
“Stuff like that never bothered me. Everybody is going to have their opinion, they’re going to say what they’re going to say, you just go on about your business. I can remember after that game somebody come up to me right away after they talked to Isiah.”
“But really, it wasn’t a big deal.”
After the furor died down and passions cooled, anyway.
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