"You see him look like a homeless person and then the next game a rockstar" - Robert Parish on why playing with Dennis Rodman bizzare

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"You see him look like a homeless person and then the next game a rockstar" - Robert Parish on why playing with Dennis Rodman bizzare originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Everyone who encountered Dennis Rodman during his active years in the NBA will have different ways of describing him. But one thing that will stick out is that he was a wildcard, unpredictable and impossible to figure out.
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Whether on the court or off it, Rodman existed in his own chaotic orbit, and for a player like Robert Parish, whose game and lifestyle thrived on structure, silence and dependability, those few months they shared in Chicago left an unforgettable mark.
Rodman's personality
Parish joined the Chicago Bulls in the 1996–97 season, at age 43, already a three-time champion with Boston and a nine-time NBA All-Star. He was near the twilight, content to anchor the bench behind Luc Longley, offer leadership and quietly chase a fourth ring.
Rodman, on the other hand, was deep in the most colorful chapter of his post-Detroit Pistons life, swerving from court dominance to Vegas trips between games, with hair changing almost every week. The two coexisted on one of the greatest teams in NBA history, yet their personalities couldn't have been more distant.
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"He looks like a homeless person," Parish said of Rodman. "You never know that though. People on the outside never knew that. You see him look like a homeless person and then the next game a rockstar … He's one of the strangest personalities to ever be around."
That was his description, delivered years later with the kind of baffled respect that follows a man like Rodman wherever he goes.
It was never about basketball IQ or toughness; Rodman had both in spades. But for veterans like Parish, who had come up in an era ruled by order and repetition, being around Rodman's mercurial energy was like learning a new language on the fly.
Rodman would arrive at practice looking like he had been sleeping in a subway tunnel, clothes askew, hair wild and eyes unreadable. But once the game tipped, he'd rebound like a man possessed, log 40 minutes with elite defensive rotations and dive into the crowd with zero concern for his limbs.
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In that 1996–97 season, The Worm led the NBA in rebounds for a sixth straight year, averaging 16.1 per game. He was 35 years old and still out-jumping 25-year-olds, still creating second-chance possessions, still wreaking havoc in the paint.
His contribution to that Bulls squad, which finished with a 69–13 record and went on to win its fifth title, was monumental.
But the cost of that brilliance was often absorbed in the locker room, where the team had to endure his quirks, his abrupt absences and the sheer unpredictability of his presence.
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The calm giant and the chaos storm
For Parish, who had a stoic demeanor and ability to lead without speaking much, adjusting to Rodman's rhythm was tough in all senses.
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The Boston Celtics icon had shared locker rooms with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale and helped shepherd a young Golden State Warriors squad before that. But nothing quite prepared him for the circus that followed Rodman, whose off-court choices often made headlines faster than his rebounds.
Whether it was the high-profile relationships in the early '90s, the impromptu wedding dress photoshoot to promote his autobiography, "Bad As I Wanna Be," or the 1997 mid-Finals Vegas bender with Hulk Hogan, he was constantly pushing the boundaries of what the league and teammates could tolerate.
Yet the brilliance never faded.
Rodman knew how to get under opponents' skin without fouling out, how to front-post players twice his size and still win the rebound battle, how to screen and cut and disappear into the margins of a play until it mattered. He was a master of the little things and that's where Parish had no choice but to respect him.
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But it was also draining.
The Bulls had veterans. Scottie Pippen knew how to navigate Rodman's mood swings. Jordan, by then on his fifth title mission, had already accepted that Rodman was a necessary inconvenience. But for Parish, who was new to that Bulls ecosystem, it took some recalibrating.
He wasn't alone. Even Phil Jackson would find ways to work Rodman's instability into his triangle offense and mindfulness rituals. And still, the team kept winning.
Parish played just 43 games that season and saw limited minutes in the playoffs. But he got his fourth and final ring, an elegant bookend to a Hall of Fame career. Rodman, true to form, got another championship, another year of leading the league in rebounds and another reason to believe that his methods, however bizarre, worked.
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Related: "One of the most interesting personalities" - Robert Parish on how playing with Dennis Rodman made the Chicago dynasty feel a lot different than Boston's
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.