It is often said that building a dynasty requires more than just talent. No matter how disliked a team may be by opposing fans or players, championship groups usually share a strong bond internally. Players need to support one another, put personal agendas aside and create an atmosphere that feels more like a family than a workplace.
For Detroit Pistons power forward John Salley , that idea became crystal clear when he watched his teammates and fellow 1986 draft class member Dennis Rodman win his first Defensive Player of the Year award.
Looking back, Salley wholeheartedly admitted he felt almost as much joy as if he had won the award himself.
"I used to think that whole bit about a team being a family was bull—t until these guys," Salley said . "For Dennis, we were the closest thing he had to a family."
Dennis' journey to that moment was anything but ordinary.
He grew up in extreme poverty in Dallas, Texas, after his father abandoned his family. During his teenage years and early adulthood, Dennis won a series of low-paying jobs simply to survive.
While gun violence and drug abuse in the neighborhood were issues, Rodman tried his best to stay away from them. That involved him working as a janitor at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
At one point, he was even briefly jailed for stealing watches. Put simply, for years, Rodman's life looked directionless and only he could have even imagined that he would make a name for himself.
Even when Rodman made his way on the Pistons team in the 198-87 season, he rarely had a noticeable impact throughout his rookie year. It was ultimately in his sophomore year that Rodman averaged 11.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
However, his true breakout came in the 1989-90 season.
Midway through the regular season, Mark Aguirre approached coach Chuck Daly and suggested that the team would be better with Rodman starting games, as he was clearly holding the team back. And since the moment "The Worm" made his way into the starting lineup, the results were immediate.
Detroit won 25 of its next 26 games and eventually registered the second-best defensive rating of the season. And as a result of their dominant display, Dennis, who logged 9.7 rebounds per game, was handed the DPOY award.
That is why, for his teammates, especially Salley, who had seen Rodman struggle to make an impact and was aware of the constant obstacles the latter had faced in his life, seeing Dennis finally win something big in life was a moment of pride.
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Interestingly, for Rodman himself, the award represented far more than a mere individual accolade. It was the validation of a journey that seemed impossible only a few years earlier.
Given that winning the DPOY honor requires far more than athletic ability, rather, it demands discipline, strength, and desire to counter the best scorers in the league night after night, Rodman undoubtedly possessed all of those qualities. Thus, that award was no less than an "Oscar" for him .
Not only does it require a player to have incredible physical ability to survive and thrive in an era marked by intense physicality, but it also requires mental fortitude and strategy to keep in step with the best offensive players in the league. And Rodman was able to do just that.
"It just feels so good," Rodman said. "You know, when you feel like the fact that I worked so hard and I just… like, 'Oh, I got this whole thing - this Defensive Player of the Year award. It's like I did something and people appreciated it.'"
Together, Salley and Rodman even went on to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy as well, solidifying their bond forever.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
