"Don't think! - Chuck Daly's priceless advice to Dennis Rodman during the Pistons' championship years

Yahoo

25-05-2025

Dennis Rodman was a unique basketball player in the sense that he didn't do his damage by scoring or out-dribbling his foes. "The Worm" crashed the boards like a big man, and the twist was, he stood just 6'7".
Rodman embraced his identity. Denniss knew the Pistons didn't pick him 27th overall in the 1986 NBA Draft because he had a smooth stroke. The New Jersey native got paid for hustle and heart for rebounding and defending.
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"I'm not in this league because I'm a great shooter," said Dennis in 1989, per the Los Angeles Times. "But it's hard for people to really stay with me because I have such a tremendous work ethic as far as going for the ball. It's mine. It belongs to me coming off that rim."
"Eaton only blocks shots," the Worm said, referring to Utah Jazz big man Mark Eaton, who won the 1989 Defensive Player of the Year. "But I play total defense. I shut my man down. I rebound. I run the floor and make steals."
Trust your gut
A special player needed a special coach. Chuck Daly was tasked with unlocking Rodman's potential. The legendary head coach noticed how Dennis seemed powered by his emotions.
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"Dennis the Menace" was a so-called "Energizer Bunny" who thrived on chaos, melancholy, and a pure will to win. Chuck relentlessly told his forward to trust his instincts because they almost always lead him in the right direction.
"He still screams, 'Don't think! Don't think!' at me when I start thinking too much, I mess up," Rodman said. "When I just go out there and work my tail off, play my game, I play a whole lot better."
This golden tip propelled a second-round pick to one of the defensive aces and a rebounding machine. With the Pistons, Dennis won two Defensive Player of the Year awards and two rebounding titles. The sweetest part? Rodman won back-to-back NBA championships and earned a place in history as a legend.
Related: "I was probably emotional and upset and directed a lot of that anger toward the team" - Hill admits he regrets how his career in Detroit ended
The "Zen Master's" tactics
After his stint in Detroit, Rodman spent two odd seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. He was late for practices and was slapped with multiple suspensions. Dennis also feuded with the players, coaching staff, and the front office. The two parties couldn't get along.
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It seemed that his career was about to go downhill. Luckily, "The Worm" was sent to the Chicago Bulls, a stacked team that featured a legendary coach: Phil Jackson. Like Daly, Phil knew how to manage the wild forward. As observed by Steve Kerr, the "Zen Master" employed an unorthodox method in coaching Rodman.
"The idea of giving someone vision, and then letting them go and then occasionally reigning them back in show them the vision again, letting him go again, that's powerful," Kerr said.
"To me that's coaching these players are arduous they are so gifted at this level, especially. You know, if you're going to call every play and try to orchestrate everything, you're overthinking things and not letting players be who they really are. The way Phil coached Dennis was genius," he added.
Daly and Jackson's tricks were vastly different, but were both effective. They knew there was no use in taming the beast. All they could do was transform this animalistic instinct into something beneficial. They succeeded in this regard, as evidenced by the five rings on Rodman's hefty resume.
Related: "When you factor size, I don't know how you could say there's ever been a better rebounder" - Chuck Daly said Dennis Rodman is the rebounding GOAT