Dennis Rodman was one of the best and most versatile defenders in NBA history. His incredible energy and effort on defense allowed him to be matched against players as diverse as Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. Rodman was one of the best one-on-one defenders to ever play the game.
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Dennis Rodman on Defense: Stats
Most people had opinions about Dennis Rodman. The Worm, as his mother first called him, became a lightning rod through his antics in the NBA. Some people hated him and some loved him.
But when you are trying to judge how good a player was, it can be best to aside those opinions. One of the best ways to do that is to use stats to judge their career.
Stats are not perfect. The statistics we have available today are much better at judging offense than defense. But, even with their limits, they are less biased than people’s memories and opinions often are – especially for a controversial player like Dennis Rodman.
Basketball Reference lists five defensive statistics in its advanced statistics section. They also list defensive rating in another section, which attempts to measure a player’s defensive effectiveness per 100 possessions. I will walk through Rodman’s numbers for each of those below.
Taken as a whole, Rodman’s stats tell an interesting story. He has some really good stats and some fairly pedestrian stats. He does not have the defensive statistical profile of an all-time great power forward like Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett.
I don’t think that is because he was not great but rather because his defensive greatness, like the man himself, was rather unique.
Embed from Getty ImagesRebound, Blocks and Steals
Dennis Rodman got boards. His 29.6% career defensive rebounding percentage is amazing. He led the league in this category seven times. He is sixth on the NBA’s all time career defensive rebounding percentage list and the five players ahead of him are all still active as of the writing of this article.
Rodman may well be the greatest defensive rebounder in NBA history. He led the league in overall rebounding seven times as well, averaging an absurd 18.7 rebounds per game the ‘91-’92 season.
Rodzilla’s rebounding cannot be overstated. It was his single best skill. He dominated the glass in the age of great big men and his defensive rebounding alone would have made him a good defender.
As I mentioned above, Rodman’s defense was quite unique and his stats show it in the steals and blocks categories. While both steals and blocks can be a misleading stat for some players, think Allen Iverson gambling for steals, usually they are a hallmark of good defensive players.
In general, you would expect someone who is a strong defensive player to get a good amount of steals, blocks or both. Dennis Rodman did not really get too many of either.
Rodman had a fairly pedestrian steal percentage of 1.1% and a similarly lukewarm block percentage of 1.2%. Rodman’s block rate was higher in his early years when he was more athletic.
One of the many unique facts about Rodman was that he entered the league at 25, so he was turning 30 before he put in many years in the NBA. His peak athletic years were probably his first few in the league.
It’s likely his age toned down his vertical leap to more human levels and his ability to block NBA shots mostly went away with it.
Rodman never really did get that many steals. Dirk Nowitzki, no defensive stalwart, had a higher career steal percentage at 1.2%.
Rodman’s defense, again, was unique. He relied on positioning, athleticism and extreme hustle to make a difference on defense. His big outlier stat on defense was rebounding. But the most traditional defensive statistics, steals and blocks, were not the big strengths of Dennis Rodman’s defensive game.
Overall Defensive Statistics
Embed from Getty ImagesAll three stats discussed below attempt to measure how much a player contributes overall to their team on the defensive end of the floor.
Defensive rating essentially measures how many baskets a player gives up per 100 possessions. Dennis Rodman had a good one: 100. That number puts him 36th on the NBA’s all time list not too far behind great defensive players like Patrick Ewing and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Defensive box plus/minus is an estimate of how many points a player gave up per possession when compared to a league average player & team.
Dennis Rodman did not finish quite as high in this statistic: he had a .5. He makes the all time top 250 for the NBA, but at a much lower spot: 184th. That puts Rodman slightly ahead of talented but lazy defender Tracy McGrady.
On the other hand, while I believe Kobe Bryant was a fairly overrated defender, he is widely considered one of the great defensive players in NBA history. Kobe had a -.1 defensive box plus/minus. So it is not like Rodman had a lower rating here than every good defensive player.
Defensive win shares (DWS) is a complicated stat that attempts to measure how much a player contributes to his team’s defense while on the floor.
Rodman finished with 54.5 defensive win shares in his career. This is a very solid number, more in line with Rodman’s defensive rating than his box plus/minus. His DWS put Rodman 36th all time.
Of course, career DWS can be tricky because players who play a lot of minutes for many years can pile them up. Dirk finished 25th on the all time list while Charles Barkley, who did not give anything like Rodman’s effort on D, finished 39th.
Even still, the great majority of players at the top of the career DWS list are known as great defenders, so Rodman fits right in.
Dennis Rodman’s career defensive statistics are different from most players I’ve written about. He did not get many steals or blocks but got an absurd number of defensive rebounds.
He had great numbers for defensive win shares and defensive rating but a much more mundane defensive box plus/minus. It seems appropriate that one of the most unique characters in NBA history has such a unique defensive statistical profile.
Comparing Dennis Rodman on Defense to Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett
| Stats | Dennis Rodman (rank on all-time NBA top 250 list) | Tim Duncan (rank on all-time NBA top 250 list) | Kevin Garnett (rank on all-time NBA top 250 list) |
| Def. Reb. % | 29.6 (6th) | 26.5 (13th) | 26.0 (15th) |
| Block % | 1.2%(NR) | 4.6 (26th) | 3.0 (81st) |
| Steal % | 1.1% (NR) | 1.1 (NR) | 1.9 (200th) |
| Def. Rating (lower is better) | 100 (36th) | 96 (3rd) | 99.1 (19th) |
| Def. Box +/- | .5 (184th) | 2.3 (11th) | 2.09 (20th) |
| Def. Win Shares | 54.5 (36th) | 106.3 (2nd) | 91.5 (7th) |
This is a tough comparison for anyone. The Big Fundamental and KG are two of the greatest defensive players of all time. But at the same time, it speaks volumes about any player if they can hold up to these comparisons at all.
If you put lazy defender Vince Carter, or even pretty good defender Chris Bosh , here, their career numbers would look laughable next to two all-timers like KG and Duncan.
But Dennis Rodman’s career defensive statistics look okay in comparison to these greats. That says something in Rodman’s favor. They are not equal, however.
Rodman was the best rebounder, but all three got a ton of boards. Both Duncan and KG blocked way more shots than Rodman. While Duncan and Rodman got the same number of steals, KG got quite a few more.
Both Duncan and KG finished with better numbers in the overall defensive statistics than Rodman. I am not totally sure that means they were better defenders than him, but it does mean both had better career defensive statistics than Rodman did.
Comparing Dennis Rodman on Defense to Dirk Nowitzki and Charles Barkley
Comparing Dennis Rodman to two of the greatest defensive players to ever live could be misleading. Below I compare Rodman to two Hall-of-Fame forwards who were not nearly as good on defense.
Barkley had some real athleticism as a young player, but also had some clear limits at 6’4” playing essentially power forward. He also did not work as hard on the defensive end as his career progressed.
Dirk was a terrible defensive player when he entered the league but worked to become a passable defender.
Neither player was known for defense. Both made the Hall of Fame for offense.
| Stats | Dennis Rodman (rank on all-time NBA top 250 list) | Charles Barkley (rank on all-time NBA top 250 list) | Dirk Nowitzki (rank on all-time NBA top 250 list) |
| Def. Reb % | 29.6 (6th) | 23.7% (43rd) | 21.9% (85th) |
| Block % | 1.2%(NR) | 1.39% (206th) | 1.9%(150th) |
| Steal % | 1.1% (NR) | 2.09% (151th) | 1.2% (NR) |
| Def Rating (lower is better) | 100 (36th) | 105 (199th) | 104 (186th) |
| Def. Box +/- | .5 (184th) | .78 (130th) | .35 (228th) |
| Def. Win Shares | 54.5 (36th) | 54 (39th) | 62.6 (25th) |
Rodman holds up much better in this comparison. His rebounding stands out – even against a guy called the Round Mound of Rebound.
Rodman’s defensive rating is the other stat where he has a huge edge over these players. The DWS is closer than you’d expect, but all three players had long careers playing a lot of minutes, and that can impact win shares.
Rodman’s defensive stats look a lot better when you compare him to players who are not two of the greatest defensive players to ever live.
Dennis Rodman on Defense: The Eye Test
Embed from Getty ImagesI am a pretty big believer in looking at the stats. In general, when I have done so, they have led me in the right direction for judging player’s careers.
Larry Bird was better on defense than many think, and his stats show just that. Magic Johnson was good but had some limits, and, again, that is what his stats say.
Sometimes I have been surprised by what the stats said: I thought Tracy McGrady’s would be worse because many articles and videos said he was bad on defense. But when I kept reading, it all made sense – he had defensive talent but did not always live up to it game to game.
In Dennis Rodman’s case, I don’t think the stats really tell enough of the story. Mind you, the stats are really good! But the things Rodman excelled at are really hard to measure.
Versatile Defender
Dennis Rodman was a 6’8” rebounding machine of a forward who guarded Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, well, for long stretches in the playoffs!
That is pretty incredible for a guy I was comparing, logically in my opinion, to two of the greatest power forwards to ever live. But that is hardly the whole story with Dennis the Menace.
When he ended up as Jordan’s teammate in Chicago, he guarded a young Shaquille O’neal in the playoffs!
In the video of Rodman guarding Shaq, the announcers go back and forth about Rodman’s strong base and how that allows him to guard such a bigger player. Bill Walton responds by saying “Mostly what Dennis Rodman has is a strong will – to put his body on the line against Shaq”.
Walton, as he often does, has it right. Dennis Rodman’s biggest skill on defense was unmeasurable by any stat: he wanted it. He had the desire to be great at defense, and a corresponding level of effort, that was almost inhuman.
“Mostly what Dennis Rodman has is a strong will – to put his body on the line against Shaq”
– Bill Walton
Much like Michael Jordan’s competitiveness is what separated him from other total freak athletes like Vince Carter, Rodman’s desire and insane effort level are what separated him from other good defenders.
He couldn’t block shots that well and did not get many steals. But he wanted to shut you down one-on-one and he mostly could – against nearly anyone!
The man guarded Hall-of-Fame centers like Shaq who were known as physical freaks for the center position. He was switched onto Jordan when the Pistons were desperate because His Airness was toying with Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson.
One on One Defense
Dennis Rodman could, and did, guard anyone from bigger guards to massive centers and he did so effectively. He did it almost exclusively through will.
He fought for position like a maniac against stronger forwards and centers. He moved his feet and used his length against Jordan, Pippen or other wings. He focused every moment on stopping his opponent and did not give them one moment of peace.
If Dennis Rodman was not the greatest one-on-one defender in NBA history, he was certainly the one you would take first if you were creating a team. It wouldn’t matter who the other team’s star was: shooting guard, wing, big forward, center. Rodman could lock them down. He is almost certainly the most versatile lockdown one-on-one defender in the history of the NBA.
This does not mean I am calling him the greatest defender in NBA history. If we return to the stats, they tell us a story that I still believe in. There is a reason KG and Tim Duncan have better stats: they were likely better at team defense.
Defense is hard to measure. The stats probably under-measures some things Rodman was great at like willingness, desire and switchability.
But the overall stats try to capture how great someone was at contributing to their team. And help defense is a huge part of that. Locking down your man is an important skill. But helping is as well.
Players like David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett were more useful to their team’s defenses because they offered the kind of help defense, rim protection and shot blocking that Dennis Rodman did not.
Rodman was great at two things: one on one defense and rebounding. How great he was at both almost cannot be overstated. But that is not all there is to defense.
Guys like KG and Duncan were nearly as good as Rodman at them. But they were also other-worldly at help defense and rim protection. That is why I’d rank them, just slightly, ahead of Rodman.
Dennis did, rightly in my opinion, get a ton of credit for his defense while he was playing. He won Defensive Player of the Year twice and was a 7x All NBA Defensive 1st Team selection and once was named to the 2nd Team All NBA Defense as well.
There is no doubt Dennis Rodman contributed to his teams’ winning with his defense. With the Pistons and Bulls, he won 5 NBA titles.
Embed from Getty ImagesSummary: Dennis Rodman on Defense
Dennis Rodman is one of the best defensive players in NBA history. His ability to stop players one-on-one was incredible and he was often matched against centers, forwards and guards. Rodman used his insane motor on defense to help his teams win five NBA titles.
I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. I write about games, players and seasons from the past.