"He took great pride in not scoring": Steve Kerr felt it was 'bizarre' that Dennis Rodman wasn't keen on shooting as much with Bulls

Dennis Rodman was a domineering defensive presence during his three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. In a team filled with prolific scorers in Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, 'The Worm' played his part with his ferocious rebounding. His ability to lock up opponents alongside the other mentioned skills took precedence over scoring and putting up numbers.

This had his teammate Steve Kerr puzzled as to why Rodman didn't bother putting up numbers while also crashing the board. Speaking on the Tolbert, Krueger, and Brooks Podcast, the now Golden State Warriors head coach found it "bizarre" that the forward wasn't keen on shooting as much.

"I think he took great pride in not scoring. It was really bizarre. When we were in Chicago together, he would have games where he would get an offensive board and literally have a layup, and he would just throw it back out, I think hoping that we would miss another shot so that he could get another offensive board."

During his stint with the Bulls, Rodman took only 4.8 shots per game. His focus was more on rebounding and passing it off to the shooters. Over the years, Rodman realized that he was more effective on the defensive end. Maybe that was the reason why he was instrumental for teams that he played for before joining the Bulls.

For instance, Dennis Rodman had zero points and 28 rebounds in a game when he was part of the San Antonio Spurs. His massive efforts on the rebounding end meant that his shooting had to take a backseat.

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Much of Dennis Rodman's shooting came when he was part of the Detroit Pistons

Dennis Rodman prioritized defense during his time with the Bulls, Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Dallas Mavericks. But that didn't mean he couldn't shoot. In his formative years with the 'Bad Boys' Detroit Pistons, the five-time NBA champion had a few 30+ point performances to showcase his ability to put up big numbers on the board.

In the 1990-91 season, Rodman had a career-high 34 points against the Denver Nuggets on 15-of-21 shooting. In 1989, he had 32 points and 21 boards against the Golden State Warriors, and in another classic versus the Portland Trail Blazers, he had 30 points and 18 rebounds in 1988. Overall, the forward averaged 8.8 points in his seven seasons with the Pistons.

Overall, in his 14 seasons in the league, Dennis Rodman averaged 7.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. He could shoot, he just chose to make a case for himself as one of the best rebounders there was in NBA history.