Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said she didn’t date Dennis Rodman back in the day, but the pair did have an interesting relationship.
During a recent appearance on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” Buss refuted Rodman’s recent claim that they dated while he played for the Lakers in 1999 — and explained why they appeared close at the time.
“I did not date Dennis Rodman,” Buss said, to which Bensinger noted that the five-time NBA champion “came out and said that.”
He was referring to when Rodman said during an interview with VLAD TV in September that he and Buss dated for six months, which at the time didn’t sit well with his Lakers teammates, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
“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,'” Buss said, seemingly referring to Rodman’s reputation for being a notorious partier.
“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.”
Buss made it sound more like a babysitting job than a romance with Rodman.
However, he recalled it differently.
Rodman brought up Buss when DJ Vlad asked him what it was like playing with Bryant and Shaq on the Lakers in comparison to playing with Michael Jordan on the Bulls.
“It was hard because I knew the fact that Kobe and Shaq wouldn’t like me,” Rodman said. “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.
“It shifted from them to me quickly, and when you can see it in the stands, and you can see it in the city and stuff like billboards, so things like that,” Rodman continued. “I’m like, ‘I’m not trying to do anything.’
“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.”
Additionally, Rodman reportedly claimed Buss invited him for drinks at the Ritz Carlton and then things took off after that.
Rodman played 23 games for the Lakers before he was released following a number of incidents.
He went on to sign with the Dallas Mavericks in January 2000.
Buss tied the knot with comedian Jay Mohr on the beach in Malibu, Calif. on Sept. 3, nearly one year after they got engaged in December 2022.
The fairly private couple — seen kissing while sitting courtside at the Lakers-Clippers game last week — reportedly began dating in 2017.
Buss was previously engaged to Phil Jackson, who coached the Lakers from 1999-04 and 2005-11, winning five championships with the club.
They announced their split on social media in December 2016.