Dennis Rodman crossed into professional wrestling during Chicago Bulls' 1998 NBA title run
Authored by zh-ayx-sports.com, Mar 21, 2026
Dennis Rodman, a former NBA power forward who won five championships with the Detroit Pistons (1989, 1990) and Chicago Bulls (1996, 1997, 1998), was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.[1][2]
During the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, Rodman missed a Bulls practice on June 14 to appear on WCW Monday Nitro in Atlanta. Chicago coach Phil Jackson fined him $100,000 for the absence.[3][4]
The Bulls defeated the Jazz 4-2 in the best-of-seven series for their sixth title in eight years. Rodman averaged 5.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the Finals.[2][5]
On July 12, 1998, Rodman teamed with Hulk Hogan against Diamond Dallas Page and Jazz forward Karl Malone at WCW Bash at the Beach at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. Hogan and Rodman lost the match by pinfall.[3][6]
Rodman made multiple WCW appearances from 1997 to 1998 but never competed in a WWE ring. Sports figures previously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame include Donald Trump (2013), Arnold Schwarzenegger (2015), Pete Rose (2004), William "The Refrigerator" Perry (2006) and Bob Uecker (2010).[7]
Sources
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, "Dennis Rodman", accessed October 2024, https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/dennis-rodman/
- Basketball-Reference.com, "Dennis Rodman Stats", https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rodmade01.html
- ESPN, "Dennis Rodman's WCW run: Best and worst moments from 1997-98", October 6, 2020, https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29277580/dennis-rodman-wcw-1997-98-best-worst-moments
- The New York Times, "Bulls' Rodman Misses Practice To Do WCW", June 15, 1998, https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/15/sports/pro-basketball-bulls-rodman-misses-practice-to-do-wcw.html
- Basketball-Reference.com, "1998 NBA Finals - Bulls vs Jazz", https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1998-nba-finals-bulls-vs-jazz.html
- WWE.com, "Karl Malone & DDP vs. Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman: Bash at the Beach 1998", https://www.wwe.com/videos/karl-malone-ddp-vs-hulk-hogan-dennis-rodman-bash-at-the-beach-1998-wcw
- WWE.com, "WWE Hall of Fame", https://www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame