Whenever I am not watching the NBA playoffs or reading analysis right now, I spend my evenings with basketball documentaries on YouTube. That is how I found the Dennis Rodman episode of Beyond the Glory, one of the better portraits of one of the strangest and most fascinating players the league has ever had.
The Show
Beyond the Glory was a documentary series on Fox Sports Net, produced by Asylum Entertainment and narrated by Jay Mohr. Each one-hour episode goes past the highlights into the life of an athlete. The Rodman episode first aired on November 21, 2004, with Rodman himself, his former teammates John Salley and Jack Haley, plus friends and family.
From Shy Kid to the Worm
The film starts where few people expect Rodman to start: as a quiet, shy kid growing up poor in Dallas, overlooked for years before his growth spurt and his late path into college basketball. From there it follows him to Detroit, where the Pistons drafted him in 1986. In the Bad Boys era he became one of the best defenders in the league, won two titles in 1989 and 1990 and was named Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Then come the years when the image changed: the trade to San Antonio, the dyed hair, the tattoos, the clashes with the Spurs. And finally Chicago.
The Bulls Years
For me as a Bulls fan, 1995 to 1998 is the highlight, and back then almost everyone in Germany who watched the NBA was a Bulls fan. Rodman next to Jordan and Pippen won three straight championships, and he led the league in rebounding in every one of those seasons. Seven straight rebounding titles in total, a run that says more about his obsession with the game than any headline about his hair color.
My Take
The documentary works because it takes both sides of Rodman seriously: the outrageous character and the player who studied every bounce of the ball. These days he makes headlines with his trips to North Korea, which makes it easy to forget what kind of player he was. If you only know him from the news, this hour explains why the Bulls needed exactly him.
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