Chicago Bulls: 3 best games of Dennis Rodman’s NBA career

1. Detroit Pistons: Jan. 2, 1991

In early 1991, the Denver Nuggets had the unfortunate fate of facing a red hot Rodman and the Pistons who were surging at the time. The Pistons would improve from here on out through the 1990-91 regular season, largely thanks to the efforts of Rodman. They carried a record of 19-11 into this game, against the poor 6-23 Nuggets.

The 1991 playoffs were also the first time that the Pistons would get truly dominated by Jordan and the Bulls. The rival Pistons and Bulls would meet in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, the latter would continue onto the NBA Finals in a 4-0 series sweep. But Rodman was still solid throughout that 1990-91 regular season in a Pistons uniform.

This Jan. 2, 1991 meeting between the Pistons and Nuggets would be the single-highest game score that Rodman would have in any regular season game of his career. He registered a game score of 36.2 by posting a career-high 34 points, 23 rebounds, and two steals. Rodman would actually own the game-high in points in this Jan. 2 showdown between two teams headed in opposite directions.

Rodman would have another efficient night in terms of the advanced numbers. He registered a box plus/minus rating of 10.8, 73.3 true shooting percentage, a goose egg in turnover percentage, 160 offensive rating, and 97 defensive rating. This was the rare occasion where Rodman would outscore the likes of legendary Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre in one game.