SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts — Dennis Rodman, who once wore a wedding dress to one of his book signings, is set to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Rodman was known more for his antics off the court but he did find time to win several National Basketball Association championships on Michael Jordan-led teams.
Rodman and two-time Olympic gold medalist Chris Mullin headline the class of 2011 which will be honored at a lavish ceremony at Symphony Hall.
"My job was to go out there and win ballgames, have a good time and take care of my family. As long as the people had a good time, that was my main objective," Rodman said.
Mullin becomes the 11th member of the famed 1992 US Olympic Team to be enshrined as an individual. The list also includes big men Artis Gilmore and Arvydas Sabonis; eight-time NBA champion Tom "Satch" Sanders of the Boston Celtics; coaching great Tex Winter and late Reece "Goose" Tatum of the Harlem Globetrotters. Women's star Teresa Edwards is also going in.
But the spotlight at Friday's news conference was on Rodman, who enjoyed the added attention.
"I shine every damn day," Rodman said. "This is for other people here that don't get to see these famous people that's going to come in this building tomorrow."
Said Winter's son Chris, "I don't know what's more shocking, that they didn't put Tex in 30 years ago, or they didn't make Dennis wait another 30 years."
While he likes to joke around, Rodman was also one of the top defensive players in the league for many seasons. He won an NBA record seven consecutive rebounding titles.
He said others, like Lakers current forward Ron Artest, have tried to follow in his footsteps but they can't pull it off.
"It's hard to be an entertainer and an athlete and try to be a smart basketball player all at the same time. As you can see, some guys try to do it but they don't know how to actually put the game of basketball first," Rodman said.
Last year Mullin was enshrined along with his teammates from the 1992 American Olympic squad. Now he becomes the 11th player from that team to also go in as an individual. Mullin played in five NBA all-star games and scored more than 17,000 points in his career.
The Naismith Hall of Fame is dominated by American players and the only other team to be enshrined is the 1960 US Olympic team.
Sabonis played in his native Lithuania before moving to the USA to play for Portland.
The Hall of Fame is named after James Naismith, a Canadian who is credited with inventing the sport in 1891.
