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Dennis Rodman never regretted not shaking hands with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls
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- Dennis Rodman never regretted not shaking hands with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls
A lot has been said and written about the moment when the Detroit Pistons refused to shake hands with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1991 playoffs. The Bad Boys have been vilified and criticized over it, but for Pistons legend Dennis Rodman, there's really not much to talk about.
In fact, never once did The Worm feel bad about not shaking hands with their ultimate Eastern Conference rivals. Even though the infamous moment was revisited through The Last Dance, Rodman still doesn't feel the need to regret anything.
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"Well, not really," Dennis told The Athletic when asked if he regretted not shaking hands with Mike and the Bulls.
Rodman said it's because the Bulls were so good
For years, the Pistons had been the immovable object blocking the Bulls' path to the Finals. By implementing "The Jordan Rules," the Bad Boys bullied and bruised MJ to assert their dominance.
In the '91 conference finals, the script was flipped. The Bulls weren't just winning. They were systematically dismantling their abusers.
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Looking back, Rodman, never one to mince his words, came clean about the Pistons' true feelings during that tough series. He candidly admitted that for the first time during that stretch, the Bad Boys felt utterly helpless.
In the lopsided Game 4, rather than endure the embarrassment of watching the Bulls celebrate their sweep victory on the Pistons' home floor, Rodman said they decided to go straight into the tunnel without a single handshake or a nod of respect before the game even ended.
"We didn't know how to handle Chicago in 1991," Rodman admitted . "Because it was so fast. Scottie got his game on. Horace [Grant] had his game on. And Michael always had his game on. But we didn't know how to handle the scheme they were doing in 1991. So basically, we were so frustrated the first two or three games, what'd we have left but to beat them up? And when that didn't work, we did the old okie doke. We didn't want to shake your hands. Screw you."
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Zeke regrets it
While Rodman often revisits that infamous moment still from a Bad Boy perspective, Isiah Thomas, the man leading the charge, felt the weight of it differently. As he reflected on it, Zeke concluded that what they did was a result of a mix of emotion and pride, which should never be the case in professional sports.
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At the time, Thomas was convinced that it was just blown out of proportion and the Bulls were just being whiny about it. However, as the years passed, the regret began to fester.
In fact, Zeke even once stated that if he could just hop in a time machine and go back to that day, he would've shaken MJ's hands like a good sport.
"I would shake Michael Jordan's hand when we walked off the floor after they beat us in 1991. That was poor sportsmanship we exuded," Thomas once told ESPN.
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"And that was the only time in my career that I had ever really been a poor sport. If I had to do it all again, that's a decision I'd definitely want a mulligan on," he added.
The Pistons' walk-off in the '91 playoffs remains one of the most polarizing snapshots in NBA history. For many, it is figuratively considered passing of the torch, but only not handed over gracefully.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
