Last night marked the second week of ESPN’s mega-hyped Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls documentary, The Last Dance, and it really was a special week—because much of the two episodes aired focused on the character—no pun intended—of Dennis Rodman. Rodman, who spent the early parts of his career with the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs before being traded to the Bulls, was notorious for his antics on and off the court, but The Last Dance really brought things to a new level. This meant new insight into Rodman’s 1997-1998 mid-season 48-hour Las Vegas bender. You read that right. And people on Twitter had much the same reaction as you did.

It was discussed frequently that Rodman simply doesn’t operate like most others in the NBA, and he was a good enough player (he’s universally considered one of the best rebounders in history) that Jordan, Coach Phil Jackson, and the rest of the team found ways to work with him. “We understood that he had different needs in his personal life than we did,” Steve Kerr, a former Bulls teammate and current coach of the Golden State Warriors said.

Rodman gave multiple glimpses into his own psyche, too. “It’s not just basketball that we have to deal with on this team,” he said in the documentary’s footage. “I’ll play the game for free, but you get paid for the bullshit.” When Pippen was injured, Rodman stepped up. “Dennis was a model citizen, to the point that it was driving him insane,” Jordan said. He needed a way to clear his mind when Pippen returned, and that meant taking “a vacation.”

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This meant, in essence, a 48-hour sanctioned trip to Las Vegas—one that Jackson and Jordan were both on board for. Dennis Rodman, in the middle of the NBA season, in Las Vegas. Yup. “I went to fucking Vegas,” Rodman said in his new Last Dance interview, before laughing. The episode ended with Rodman, clad in a leather jacket with Miller Lite in hand, hopping onto a motorcycle and zipping off, presumably to Sin City (with his then-girlfriend, Carmen Electra).

Rodman wanted to take a vacation … mid-season 😳

48 hours in Vegas #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/JWGpnEqgJH

Obviously, with record-breaking audiences watching ESPN’s documentary series, this meant for some pretty great social media reactions.

Of course, Rodman didn’t return in time. He ran over his allotted 48 hours, which meant Jordan went to go get him himself. And Carmen Electra—interviewed herself for the series—was in there in his room with him. “We had to go get his ass out of bed,” Jordan said. “And I’m not gonna say what’s in his bed, or where he was, or blah blah blah.” We’ll never know what that “blah blah blah” entails—but man would we love to.

Michael Jordan dragged Dennis Rodman out of a Vegas hotel with Carmen Electra. This man could do it all. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/7qgC3QnVfR

It’s a trip to think about what those 48 hours were like.

How much would you pay to watch footage of Dennis Rodman’s 48 hour Vegas vacation on PPV?

Frankly, we need a 10-part doc of Rodman in Vegas.

Michael Jordan barged in to drag Dennis Rodman out of a hotel room with Carmen Electra. We don’t give the 90s for being crazy as hell.#TheLastDance

“It was definitely an occupational hazard to be Dennis [Rodman’s] girlfriend.” – @carmenelectra #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/jzkdeVUgZw

am i to understand that the people filming the all-access video of the Bulls in 1998 got to follow Dennis Rodman on his 48-hour Vegas vacation or was that just generic Rodman-in-Vegas-with-Carmen Electra footage

Rodman needing to get trashed in Vegas, and his championship team understanding that, is cutting edge levels of brotherhood.

Dennis Rodman: DNP (Vegas)

to this day the single-greatest load management finesse of all-time.

“please excuse me i have to go to Vegas i have needs” AND IT ACTUALLY WORKED

As NBA fans of today know, a popular concept is called “load management.” This is when players—particularly older or more injury prone players—are given rest throughout the season during various games, or on the second night of a back-to-back. It’s a philosophy meant to keep players more healthy through the vigors of an 82-game season. Donovan Mitchell, a star for the Utah Jazz, watched The Last Dance and saw Rodman’s 48-hour trip as sort of a pioneer move.

Say what you want Dennis Rodman invented load management 😂😂😂😂😂

That we didn’t get to experience Dennis Rodman’s career during the social media era is a crime

Dennis Rodman left a dynasty champion ship team mid season to go do coke and fuck hoes in Las Vegas for a few days 😭😭

Someone said this is Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra in Vegas 😂😂 #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/z8wNj0ej3n

Dennis Rodman in a leather jacket drinking a Miller Lite as he rides away on a motorcycle is what the inside of my brain looks like

Every team in every sport got a player with Dennis Rodman mentality. They just don’t have his talent , intangibles and Phil Jackson as the coach 🤣 #TheLastDance

Think whatever you want about Rodman’s way of life, or his mid-season vacation. As fans watching The Last Dance will continue to see, it all ended up working out. The Bulls won their third straight title in 1997-1998, completing the team’s second three-peat of the ’90s, and Rodman ended up in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Not too shabby, huh?

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