‘I did not date Dennis Rodman’: Lakers owner Jeanie Buss denies the famous rumor

Sometime ago, Dennis Rodman thought he spilled the beans about his alleged sentimental relationship with Jeanie Buss back in the day. However, the Lakers owner recently appeared on In Depth with Graham Bensinger to deny the rumor, but explaining that they did share an unusual relationship. 

Buss refuted Rodman’s claim that they were a couple when he played for the Lakers in 1999 and gave her take on why they appeared so close at the time.

“I did not date Dennis Rodman,” she assured, after Bensinger pointed out that the former Bulls champion “came out and said that.”

Jeanie Buss reveals truth about ‘dating’ Dennis Rodman https://t.co/222wGAzyLN pic.twitter.com/z5wCbgG6Iz

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“I mean yes, in other words, when my dad [former Lakers owner Jerry Buss] brought on Dennis Rodman to the team it was kind of like, ‘Let’s make sure that we know where he is at all times,’” Jeanie revealed,  clearly referring to Dennis’ reputation for staying up late and partying.

“So, if it’s about, ‘Hey where are you gonna be tonight? OK, we’re all going to this restaurant, or we’re going to this club, or we’re going to this beach, or we’re going to wherever Dennis is going to be.’ You could say it was dating to say that it was making sure that I had an eye on him,” she added.

Even though the Lakers owner almost made it sound like their relationship was more of a babysitting job, Rodman recalled it differently.

It all started when DJ Vlad asked the five-time champion what it was like to play alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and he decided to share a more intimate story for context.

“It was hard because I knew the fact that Kobe and Shaq wouldn’t like me,” Rodman recalled. “I know because I saw Jerry Buss; he loved me. I used to date his daughter. So I was dating his daughter at that time. We dated for six months, and I know Kobe and Shaq didn’t like me because [the] whole attention became Dennis.”

He then explained how his teammates avoiding him.“They rarely would talk to me, even in games. I think that’s the main reason why they cut me. They went to the upper hand, and they didn’t want me anymore.”

“Somebody grabs my a**” – Jeanie Buss also claimed that an NBA owner allegedly harassed her back in 1995

Jeanie was of course part of the legendary Buss family that has owned the Los Angeles franchise for three decades. During the same recent interview, she mentioned many interesting anecdotes of her early days with the Lakers.

She then revealed a shocking claim that happened almost 30 years ago, when she sat in on an NBA board of governors meeting for the first time. According to her account, as she was leaving the table, another owner walked by her and squeezed her butt.

“As we were waiting, taking a break from the meeting and everybody’s in line for the buffet for lunch during the lunch break, somebody grabs my ass,” Buss shared. “I turn around and I was so shocked.”

As part of the Buss legacy, Jeanie recalled she first had a small role with the L.A. squad before this happened, but wasn’t until her father gave her a bigger role in 1995.