Dennis Rodman was inducted into the Hall of Fame and his emotional speech stole the show as he recal

May 2024 · 3 minute read

When Dennis Rodman was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, he was one of several people honoured, but the larger-than-life legend's heartfelt speech stole the show.

Wearing a blazer with both the Pistons and Bulls' name emblazoned on the back, Rodman repeatedly stopped as he choked back tears in the 2011 ceremony.

"I didn't play the game for the money, I didn't play the game to be famous," he told the audience in Massachusetts.

"What you see here is just more the illusion that I love to just be an individual that is very colourful."

While there was more to Rodman than basketball - romances with Madonna and friendships with Kim Jong-un - a wider audience is now getting to know Rodman the player through Netflix's The Last Dance.

He is a five-time NBA champion and two-time Defensive Player of the Year and one of the best on-ball defenders you’ll ever see; nimble and aggressive in a 6ft 7in frame with an engine that wouldn’t quit.

"This game has been very good to me," he continued.

"I could have been anywhere in the world. I could have been dead, I could have been a drug dealer, I could have been homeless - I was homeless," he continued.

"A lot of you guys here in the Hall of Fame know what I'm talking about, living in the projects and trying to get out of the projects.

"And I did that, but it took a lot of hard work and a lot of bumps along the road."

There was room for jokes at his expense, too, as he thanked the late David Stern, the former NBA commissioner for letting him in the building in reference to a CV that, as well, as accolades, featured numerous fines and ejections.

Rodman was one of a trio of stars, along with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, in the Bulls’ dominant side of the 1990s that is arguably the best NBA team basketball has ever seen and made a point of paying tribute to his teammates.

Phil Jackson, the Bulls coach got a lot of credit for being there for him as did Jerry Buss, Chuck Daly and James Rich when describing his absent dad.

Rodman claims his father cashed in on his basketball fame with a book despite never being a part of his life.

"He made a lot of money, but he never came and said hello to me," he said. "But that didn't stop me from persevering."

However, he also showed remorse telling his mum, wife and children he was sorry for not being a better son, husband and father.

"If anyone asks if I have any regrets in your career being a basketball player, I say I have one regret: I wish I was a better father," Rodman admitted.

Watch the tear-jerking speech in full below...

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