Dennis Rodman had already accomplished just about everything possible as a basketball player by the time he reached his 40s.
The Hall of Famer won five NBA championships, earned two Defensive Player of the Year awards and was selected to seven All-Defensive First Teams. He built his reputation without needing to score in bunches, instead becoming one of the greatest rebounders and defenders basketball has ever seen.
By the time Rodman stepped away from the NBA, though, he clearly wasn't finished with the spotlight.
He tried professional wrestling. He appeared in movies and television. He played in smaller basketball leagues around the world. Rodman seemed willing to try almost anything if it meant staying connected to sports and entertainment.
One particularly strange stop came during the 2004 NBA Summer League, when Rodman was briefly associated with the New Orleans Hornets.
A young J.R. Smith was there too.
And according to Smith, Rodman's approach to the Summer League experience was very different from his own.
Rodman's One-Day Summer League Stint
Smith was just 17 years old when he entered the NBA ahead of the 2004-05 season.
Rodman, meanwhile, was 43.
The five-time NBA champion was supposed to be part of the Hornets' Summer League team, which meant the teenage Smith potentially had an opportunity to share a basketball environment with one of the greatest defensive players in league history.
For a young player just beginning his professional career, having Rodman around could have been an incredible learning experience.
There was just one problem.
According to Smith, Rodman didn't stick around long enough for that to happen.
Smith recalled the story during a July 2022 appearance on Gilbert Arenas' "No Chill" podcast.
"Dennis Rodman was supposed to be on my Summer League team, my rookie year. I was 17 years old. I've seen this man one time. The first day he got the per diem, never seen him again."
It was an unforgettable introduction to the professional basketball world for Smith.
Rodman apparently showed up, collected his daily allowance and disappeared.
Rodman Was There for One Reason
Smith was taking the Summer League seriously.
At 17, he was trying to establish himself as a professional basketball player and figure out what life in the NBA would look like. Every practice and game represented an opportunity to learn.
Rodman seemed to have a completely different perspective.
Smith explained that he had very little money at the time and was fascinated by the way Rodman handled the situation.
"I had like $1,600 at 17. I had my little cash… and I was like, 'what?'"
Then Smith saw Rodman get onto the team van.
"I seen Dennis Rodman get on the van, got his little envelope, got off. I never seen him again."
For Smith, the entire situation was almost surreal.
Here was Dennis Rodman, one of the most recognizable basketball players on the planet, showing up around a group of young players who were trying to make their mark.
And then, apparently, he was gone.
A Very Different Stage of Rodman's Career
The story makes more sense when considering where Rodman was in his career.
By 2004, Rodman had already been retired from the NBA for several years. His championship résumé was complete, and his reputation as one of basketball's greatest rebounders and defenders was already secure.
There was no longer anything he needed to prove on an NBA court.
Instead, Rodman continued finding unconventional ways to stay involved with basketball.
He later played for teams including the ABA's Long Beach Jam and Orange County Crush. He also made basketball appearances in countries such as Mexico, Finland and the United Kingdom.
Those stops were a far cry from his championship years with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.
But they fit Rodman's personality.
He had never been someone who followed a conventional career path.
J.R. Smith Never Forgot the Story
For Smith, Rodman's brief appearance became less of a basketball lesson and more of a story he could tell years later.
It was also an early glimpse at just how strange professional basketball could be.
Smith was 17 and trying to understand the business of the NBA. Rodman was 43 and already a global icon with five championship rings.
Their priorities were obviously very different.
Smith wanted to build a career.
Rodman, according to Smith's recollection, apparently wanted to collect his per diem and move on.
That contrast is what makes the story so entertaining.
Rodman Was Always Going to Do Things His Own Way
Dennis Rodman's career was never conventional.
He became an NBA superstar without being a traditional scoring star. He turned rebounding and defense into an art form. He became a five-time champion while developing a personality that was almost as famous as his basketball career.
After the NBA, he continued to embrace that same unpredictability. The Summer League story involving Smith may have been a small moment in Rodman's long career, but it perfectly captures the kind of stories that followed him everywhere.
For a teenager beginning his NBA journey, seeing Dennis Rodman show up for one day and disappear with his envelope was unforgettable.
And years later, Smith still remembered it clearly.
Apparently, sometimes the biggest lesson a young player can take from a basketball legend isn't something learned during practice.
Sometimes, it's watching the legend collect his money and walk away.
