Back In The Day NBA

Shaquille O'Neal Details The Stinky Party Lifestyle Of Dennis Rodman

Shandel Richardson

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Dennis Rodman is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Dennis Rodman is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Only a city like Los Angeles could handle larger than life sports figures Dennis Rodman, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal simultaneously.

They all played together for the 1998-99 season but one star stood out the most. Speaking on his The Big Podcast, O'Neal said Rodman was easily the most popular in the LA nightlife scene.

"He'll come in with 40 minutes on the clock, eating chicken and rice not paying attention," O'Neal said. "During the middle of the meeting, then take a cold shower. We go out first, then he'll give you 25 rebounds. Stankin' like a (expletive}, he'd put his clothes on and go to the club and have the baddest women I've ever seen in my life."

While was known for his partying, he says there was no comparison to Rodman. There are plenty legendary stories, ranging from his days with the Detroit Pistons to the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls.

O'Neal was most impressed how Rodman, one of the league's greatest rebounders, could pick up women despite refusing hygiene.

"He smelled like garbage-truck water and he got models on him at the club," O'Neal said. "I was a party guy ... I ain't never seen what I've seen from Dennis Rodman. I was actually mad. Not because he got the girls but this (expletive) didn't even wash his ass."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com