Dennis Rodman has stated he has no regrets about the moment the Detroit Pistons refused to shake hands with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1991 playoffs.
Rodman said he never felt bad about not shaking hands with their Eastern Conference rivals. He addressed the infamous moment after it was revisited in The Last Dance.
Rodman’s Bad Boy Perspective
Rodman said, “Well, not really,” when asked if he regretted not shaking hands with Mike and the Bulls.
For years, the Pistons had blocked the Bulls’ path to the Finals by implementing “The Jordan Rules”. In the ’91 conference finals, the Bulls were systematically dismantling their abusers.
Rodman admitted that for the first time during that stretch, the Bad Boys felt utterly helpless.
In Game 4, Rodman said the Pistons decided to go straight into the tunnel without a handshake or nod of respect before the game even ended rather than endure the embarrassment of watching the Bulls celebrate their sweep victory on the Pistons’ home floor.
“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.”
Isiah Thomas’ Regret
Isiah Thomas, who led the Pistons, felt the weight of the handshake snub differently.
Thomas reflected that their actions were a result of emotion and pride, which he believes has no place in professional sports. Thomas was initially convinced that the incident was blown out of proportion and that the Bulls were just complaining.
As the years passed, Thomas began to regret the incident. He stated that if he could go back in time, he would have shaken MJ’s hand.
“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.
“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, t