Rodman's rebounding numbers off the charts

I know it's difficult to ignore, but try looking past the tie-dyed hair, the tattoos, the cross-dressing and all the suspensions for a minute.

As soon as he retires or is suspended again -- this time, for good -- Dennis Rodman's true legacy will be as the greatest rebounder in NBA history.

Pound-for-pound, no player has rebounded the basketball better than Rodman.

BESIDES THE FACT THAT TENDEX absolutely adores him, Rodman's longevity and productivity are unsurpassed.

Rodman's return to the Chicago Bulls lineup after his 11-game suspension for kicking a courtside cameraman coincides with the start of the second half of the season. And it makes the Bulls that much tougher to dethrone as champions.

Rodman's return to the Bulls means more rebounds, more possessions and, ultimately, more shots for Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc. It also means those players can concentrate more on scoring and playing defense, and worry less about grab bing rebounds.

That's Rodman's job. And he does it better than anybody, when he isn't in the business of shameless self-promotion.

Rodman's 16.5-rebound per game average this season again leads the league -- nearly two boards per game more than second-place Jayson Williams of the New Jersey Nets.

STATISTICALLY, RODMAN IS THE BEST boardman because he has the highest rebounding percentage of any player, past or present.

During his career, Rodman has captured 23.5 percent of all available rebounds when he's in the game. Swen Nater (21.5 percent) is second. No other player is over 20 percent, and that includes Wilt Chamberlain (18.7) and Bill Russell (18.4), who are considered the two greatest rebounders of all time.

Because there are 10 players competing for every rebound, an average player's rebound percentage is 10 percent. Rodman more than doubles that number.

As a newspaper reporter, I covered Rodman's final season with the Detroit Pistons, 1992-93. On the court, he's no longer the same player. He played small forward instead of power forward, and he was a better defensive player. He also shot the 3-pointer every now and then. I was amazed at his conditioning regimen, which consisted of weight-lifting and stationary bicycle riding immediately before and right after each home game.

In sum, Rodman used to be a more complete player. Now, he's strictly a rebounder and sometimes defensive stopper. Since his TENDEX high rating of .724 in 1991-92, Rodman has posted ratings of .604 (his last season in Detroit), .617, .723 and 625. His rating this season before the suspension was .640.

RODMAN STARTED CHANGING HIS final two years in Detroit, when Pistons management refused to renegotiate his contract. As a result, Rodman started missing practices and shootarounds, all but forcing the Pistons to trade him to San Antonio.

With the Spurs, Rodman continued to be a nuisance. San Antonio also refused to give him a new contract, so Rodman continued acting up and around that time he started dating Madonna, who taught him the finer arts of manipulating the media and the general public.

These days, Rodman is bigger than life. Armed with a $9 million contract from the Bulls, best-selling book, TV shows and movie deals, Rodman has all the money he'll ever need. His bizarre off-court behavior provides him with all the publicity and endor sements he'll ever want.

Somehow, Rodman still finds time to continue his reign as the best rebounder in the game.

Dennis Rodman's year-by-year TENDEX ratings

* -- Rodman's TENDEX rating increased when he moved from small forward to power forward.

John Harris is TENDEX contributor. Dave Heeren invented TENDEX in 1960 and is the author of an annual TENDEX draft report. You can email him at davetendex@aol.com.