15 stars you might have forgot played for the Los Angeles Lakers

1. Dennis Rodman (1999)

Dennis Rodman is one of the most unforgettable athletes in all sports, but the last couple years of his Hall of Fame NBA career are easy to overlook.

Following his run of rebounding titles, Defensive Player of the Year awards, and NBA championships with the Pistons, Spurs and Bulls, Rodman ended things with two drink-and-you-missed it stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

Rodman was already 37 years old when he helped the Bulls win their sixth NBA title, but considering he’d led the NBA in rebounding (again) that season and was giving Karl Malone all that he could handle in the 1998 Finals, there was no reason to believe he couldn’t keep playing at a high level while knocking on 40.

The Bulls broke up their dynasty after that championship and cut Rodman prior to the lockout-shortened 1999 season. He joined a Los Angeles Lakers squad that was still one year away from winning a title with Shaq and Kobe at the helm.

Rodman didn’t last long in L.A.

While he was productive in the one stat category anyone ever cared about for him — pulling down 11.2 rebounds per game as a part-time starter — he just didn’t fit with the team. Rodman was cut after only 23 games. He revealed recently that he couldn’t deal with the attitudes of L.A.’s young players.

The next season, Rodman was given another shot in Dallas as a midseason pickup. He averaged 15.8 rebounds per game as a starter, but lasted only 12 games before being cut again, ending a career that was unlike any we’d seen before and probably won’t see again.