Dennis Rodman's uncommon blend of basketball and entertainment landed, Friday, at the sport's birthplace.
Rodman was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame with nine other members of the 2011 class.
Dressed in familiar regalia, with colored hair and piercings dangling from his nose and ears, Rodman stepped up to the podium full of pride an emotion. His former coach and Hall of Fame Class of 2007 inductee Phil Jackson welcomed Rodman as one of the game's greatest.
Through a tear-filled speech, Rodman acknowledged coaches Jackson and fellow inductee Tex Winter, and mentioned teammate Michael Jordan, along with musicians Eddie Vedder and Motley Crue as his inspiration.
“I always tried to be an illusion, and a colorful one,” he said. “My one regret is that I never had a father.”
Chris Mullin is the other headline name in the class, though much of the focus was on Rodman.
Stanford women's coach Tara VanDerveer joked she was so excited she was "gonna go out and get a tattoo."
Copyright AP - Associated Press
