John Salley revealed the hilarious ways in which he and Dennis Rodman would get under Alonzo Mourning’s skin.
The Bad Boys Detroit Pistons have a polarizing reputation. While many recognize them for setting the tone of ’90s basketball as being excessively physical, their tactics were often called dirty.
Even without using stiff arms in games, the Pistons’ duo of John Salley and Dennis Rodman knew how to make their opponents uncomfortable. Salley shared a story of how he would tell Alonzo Mourning on the court that Rodman found him cute, causing Mourning to get very upset at the duo.
John Salley: No one ever threw a punch at me. I remember telling Alonzo (Mourning) to swing at me. We just started messing with him and I said, ‘Dennis thinks you’re cute. Dennis had asthma, so he’s breathing funny. He (Mourning) was like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ and I said, ‘He thinks you’re cute’.
Stephen Jackson: I have seen the video. Dennis Rodman was standing right behind him and Zo comes out of the game and is like, ‘You are a sick motherf***er. You are sick!’
John Salley: Dennis is using any way to get into his head. ‘Look at those calves, claves are great, how’d you get calves like that?’ Alonzi is like, ‘Y’all are sick.’
Salley averaged 7.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks during his time with the Pistons, while Rodman averaged 8.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists over his Pistons tenure.
Rodman won his 1990 and 1991 Defensive Player of the Year trophies during his time in Detroit, while Salley remained a role player on the roster for the entirety of their run together,
Dennis Rodman And John Salley Would Become Teammates Again
Rodman and Salley were teammates for both the titles the Pistons won in 1989 and 1990. They would be split up when Salley joined the Miami Heat in 1992.
Salley would reunite with Rodman on the 1996 Chicago Bulls, winning one more title together. Rodman averaged 7.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in that Playoff run, while Salley barely played and averaged 0.9 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists
Dennis didn’t end up in Chicago right after his Pistons tenure, as he would first play for the Spurs from 1993 to 1995 before finding his way to the Bulls. Along with the 1996 title that Salley also won, Rodman won two more to three-peat alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
