Dennis Rodman: 5 things to know about the former Bulls star

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Dennis Rodman was known as one of the most prolific rebounders on the court and one of its most polarizing characters.

Rodman was a major part of the Chicago Bulls’ last three-peat and was a focal point of ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary, which took a look inside the team’s 1997-98 championship season.

Rodman played three seasons with the Bulls before the dynasty was broken up. He ended his career playing with the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

Here are five more things to know about the 58-year-old New Jersey native.

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1) SMALL SCHOOL STAR

Rodman starred at an NAIA school. (VINCENT LAFORET/AFP via Getty Images)

Rodman played college basketball at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and was a three-time NAIA All-American. He finished his collegiate career averaging 25.7 points and 15.7 rebounds per game before turning pro. He made waves at pre-draft camp and caught the attention of the Detroit Pistons.

2) EARLY CAREER

The Pistons selected Rodman in the second round of the 1986 draft. He played seven seasons with the Pistons and helped them win two championships.

He first became the source of controversy in 1993, when he was found asleep in his car with a loaded rifle. He later admitted in his autobiography “As Bad As I Wanna Be” that he was contemplating killing himself but had what he called an epiphany.

“I decided that instead [of killing myself] I was gonna kill the impostor that was leading Dennis Rodman to a place he didn't want to go ... So I just said, 'I'm going to live my life the way I want to live it and be happy doing it.' At that moment I tamed [sic] my whole life around. I killed the person I didn't want to be.”

3) TWO TRADES AND JOINING JORDAN

Rodman was a big piece alongside Jordan. (CHRIS WILKINS/AFP via Getty Images)

After the 1992-93 season, Rodman was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. He led the league in rebounding in two seasons with the team but the Spurs could never get to the NBA Finals. The Spurs lost to the Utah Jazz in the 1994 NBA Playoffs and the Houston Rockets in the 1995 NBA Playoffs.

By the 1995-96 season, Rodman was traded to the Bulls, where he would win his final three championships. However, the three seasons didn’t come without controversy. He would continue to win rebounding titles while drawing a mass of attention off the court for things like dating Madonna and wearing a wedding dress to promote his book.

However, he still was known as an elite rebounder and defender and was able to help guide the Bulls to three more championships.

4) LAST OF NBA CAREER

Rodman would play a handful of games with the Lakers and Mavericks toward the end of his career. He still proved to be a rebounding force in a short span but he was out of the NBA by March 2000.

5) POST-CAREER

Rodman has been in the spotlight for several brief moments after his playing career was over.

He struck up a relationship with the North Korean government and secured an opportunity for former NBA players to go to the Hermit Kingdom and play basketball over there. He established a friendship with dictator Kim Jong Un and visited the country several times.

Rodman is also friendly with President Trump and at one point during a visit to Pyongyang he gave a North Korean official a copy of Trump's book “The Art of the Deal.”