Ex-Sonics star Shawn Kemp has claimed it was Dennis Rodman – not Michael Jordan – who propelled the Bulls past Seattle to the 1996 championship.
Jordan was awarded Finals MVP following the series, in which he averaged 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists to win his fourth title at the time.
But Kemp has credited the eccentric Rodman for leading Chicago to the title after he ‘discombobulated’ center Frank Brickowski by ‘kissing’ him.
‘Michael wasn’t the reason, he didn’t beat us in the championship, Kemp said on All the Smoke.
‘We was on his a**. He didn’t beat us. Dennis Rodman was the one who beat us. We had no answer for his a** man, we had no answer for Dennis Rodman. Every time that they needed a second shot or something special or an extra rebound, a tip in, this motherf***er was flying and winking and kissing and s**t.’
Shawn Kemp shared how Dennis Rodman hurt the Bulls in the 1996 NBA Finals
Michael Jordan was awarded the Finals MVP in 1996 despite Rodman’s rebounding heroics
Kemp continued to describe how Rodman disrupted his opponents, claiming that he wore colored contacts and ‘some lip s***.’
‘He would try to kiss Frank’s arm,’ Kemp said. ‘And Frank just couldn’t take it. The man in him just couldn’t allow it. Dennis knew what buttons to push. We needed Frank to rebound and s***. He got him all discombulated.’
Ultimately, the Bulls would win the series in six games, with Rodman proving to be his typical pesky self.
Kemp is defended by Jordan and Luc Longley during Game 6 of the 1996 NBA Finals
He averaged a whopping 14.7 rebounds per game as the Bulls held off their Western Conference opponents.
The title was the first in a second set of Bulls three-peats, as Chicago also lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy in 1997 and 1998.
Kemp, meanwhile, would never return to the Finals – or even the conference finals for that matter.
