Dennis Rodman was an outstanding basketball player, no doubt. However, the teams he played for knew that they had to take the good with the bad. What the Chicago Bulls likely never thought of bracing for was Rodman suddenly deciding to skip practice in the middle of the 1998 NBA Finals to appear in a professional wrestling show.
A lot of fans are aware of the stunt Rodman pulled. After helping the Bulls take a 2-1 lead against the Utah Jazz, he flew to Detroit and joined his good buddy, the late Hulk Hogan, at a “WCW Monday Nitro” event at The Palace of Auburn Hills. He revealed some key details about the infamous escapade in an appearance on the “Got Sole” podcast in September 2024.
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“I’ve been known Hulk Hogan for a long time. One day, he came at me, and he said, ‘Dennis, you been my tag team partner in Detroit.’ I said, ‘All right, Hulk, I can do that because I can wrestle.’ I used to do it with him back in the day. He said, ‘Dennis, what you doin’? It’s gonna be tomorrow.’ I said, ‘Tomorrow? I got a damn game, man.’ He said, ‘I don’t give a damn. I’ll send you a private plane. You just fly down for an hour. I’ll fly you right back,'” Rodman recalled.
Dennis, the two-sport athlete?
That wasn’t Rodman’s first foray into professional wrestling, as he had already appeared as a member of Hogan’s stable, the New World Order (nWo), in March 1997. His first match took place in July 1997, when he formed a tag team with Hulk and lost to Lex Luger and The Giant. The Bulls presumably had no problem with their starting power forward risking his body and limbs inside the ring, since it transpired in the offseason.
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Rodman’s decision in 1998 was definitely a head-scratcher, though. He might have thought it was fine to take a breather from playing hoops, especially after Chicago was fresh off of completing a 96-54 beatdown of the Jazz in Game 3 of the series. For what it’s worth, he played just 22 minutes that evening, recording six rebounds.
Besides, it wasn’t as if he was involved in a wrestling match. His appearance was as brief as it could be, taking part in a kayfabe and hitting Hogan’s rival, Diamond Dallas Page, in the back with a steel chair.
The five-time NBA champ also told the show’s host that he got Phil Jackson’s go-ahead to skip practice and do his thing. However, that runs a bit contrary to Hogan’s recounting in a WWE Chronicle documentary, in which he said Jackson kept calling him to ask where Rodman was. Reports also have it that he was fined by both the Bulls and the league for his transgression.
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Perhaps some of the finer details about the incident have been lost in time. But we can only imagine how the rest of the Bulls players felt about it. Ron Harper praised Rodman for being a great businessman, while most of them were probably just resigned to the fact that he could do whatever he wanted as long as he performed as expected on the hardwood floor.
Dennis, a two-time Hall of Famer
In hindsight, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year likely thought his (mis)adventure was worth it. It didn’t matter as much in the bigger picture for Chicago, as the team secured its second three-peat by winning two of the next three contests.
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In addition, he did appear to love appearing on professional wrestling shows. Rodman appeared in only four official matches, though, with three of them coming in WCW. Some might remember that one of those battles also featured Karl Malone. Still, it occurred weeks after the 1998 NBA Finals concluded.
The community has also expressed its love for the retired basketball star over the years. Another professional wrestling outfit, WWE, will reportedly honor him by inducting him into the celebrity wing of its Hall of Fame in April.
The news comes 15 years after Rodman was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, proving he is truly one of one.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.