Dennis Rodman vs. Ben Wallace?

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Who was the better ALL AROUND Defender?

Is Ben Wallace worthy of a HOF consideration?

[Kvnzhangyay]

Ben wallace

[Angel Face]

I'll take Rodman, the fact that he can get into his opponents head, irritate him and take him out of his game.

[T_L_P]

Ben Wallace had a bigger impact on the defense. His best four or five years are GOAT worthy.

[Prometheus]

I'll take Wallace as the better defensive player (slightly), but overall Rodman was better (not close).

[DonDadda59]

Who was the better ALL AROUND Defender?

Rodman by a country mile. He guarded all positions and faced the likes of Jordan to Shaq as his assignment. Big Ben was more of a cleanup man, blocking shots. Sheed was the real anchor on that squad.


Is Ben Wallace worthy of a HOF consideration?

Borderline.

[deja vu]

Ben was a better all around defender due to his shotblocking abilities.

I'd still take Rodman over him. Greatest rebounder in history.

[Reggie43]

Rodman easily especially if you consider basketball as 90% mental and 10% physical for those playing on an already high level.

[DonDadda59]

Ben was a better all around defender due to his shotblocking abilities.

How does shotblocking make him a better all around defender though?

On Jordan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ZlHwMstDc)

On Shaq (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg3BiOw4TWo)

You could put Big Ben on Shaq, but put him on any decent 2 guard and you have a massive defensive liability.

[Smook A.]

Both were great elite rebounders and defenders, but if I had to choose one out of the two, I'd pick Dennis Rodman.

Why? Because he was a better all-around defender and could rebound better. I watched him play, and the guy could defend anyone from a point guard to a center. Also, his ability to rebound the ball was just off the charts. Wallace was a great rebounder too, but he damn sure wasn't as good as "The Worm"

Oh and not to mention, Rodman was a better offensive player (not by much, obviously).

[AintNoSunshine]

Isn't Ben Wallance a 3 or 4-time DPOY? He's a lock.

[L.Kizzle]

Borderline.
He was the best defender of this past era how is he borderline? I hate the double standard with offense and defense. Great offensive player is a lock but great defender is borderline?

[NBAplayoffs2001]

He was the best defender of this past era how is he borderline? I hate the double standard with offense and defense. Great offensive player is a lock but great defender is borderline?

Great statement. If anything it should be a lock to be a great defender IMO. A reason why I think Shawn Marion should make the HOF one day.

[robert_shaww]

Ben Wallace had a bigger impact on the defense. His best four or five years are GOAT worthy.

i know what you did here.

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

[Smoke117]

Ben Wallace had a MUCH BIGGER IMPACT. At his peak in the modern NBA, he is probably right behind Hakeem and right above Robinson (though below Robinson for prime/career) in the modern era of basketball. Dennis was a great defender, but he did not have the defensive game to anchor a team like Wallace did. He was more of a player stopper.

[Reggie43]

Ben Wallace had a MUCH BIGGER IMPACT. At his peak in the modern NBA, he is probably right behind Hakeem and right above Robinson (though below Robinson for prime/career) in the modern era of basketball. Dennis was a great defender, but he did not have the defensive game to anchor a team like Wallace did. He was more of a player stopper.

Why would you put him above Robinson? David was bigger faster and had better defensive stats.

[Smoke117]

Why would you put him above Robinson? David was bigger faster and had better defensive stats.

I think at his peak he was just more dominate...though I'm not saying that Wallace was more dominant at their best...but Robinson was out there having to score 25ppg or so, while Wallace had all the energy in the world for defense as he was terrible offensively. His peak he was just more active than Drob because of this and therefore he was more consistently super dominant than Drob.

[Rake2204]

Always a tough question. Both had wonderful defensive assets. It's a little bit of a tough comparison because Ben Wallace was a defensive anchor while Dennis Rodman seemed like a specialist with fill-in-the-blank abilities (for instance, drawing charges). They were both great, but in different roles.

I feel like I might be biased from watching Ben Wallace so much in the early 2000's. I modeled a lot of my game off of Dennis Rodman, but I didn't live him in Detroit (I was only in 3rd grade by the time he was traded to San Antonio). I lived Ben Wallace, and he created that championship team.

As someone mentioned earlier this thread, Rasheed Wallace was the defensive cherry on top in '04, but the Pistons would have never established relevancy were it not for Ben. He was a star, and it was all due to his defense. The Pistons were rolling out Jerry Stackhouse, Cliff Robinson, Michael Curry, and Chucky Atkins in '02, yet they clinched a Central Division title for the first time in over a decade, mostly thanks to what Ben Wallace was providing night in and night out.

Shotblocking was the most obvious part of Ben's arsenal. But his mere presence may have been more valuable. He affected anyone coming into the paint - blocking shots, altering shots, drawing charges. Further, he was outstanding at hedging screens and doing the in-between things.

Interestingly, I thought one of Ben's defensive weaknesses was that he was a victim of his size. There was only so much he could do with a guy like Shaquille O'Neal. Whereas on the other side, Dennis Rodman was able to handle folks his size and a little bit bigger and smaller. But I'm not sure Rodman could be relied upon to change and establish an entire culture in the manner Ben Wallace did.

[Reggie43]

I think at his peak he was just more dominate...though I'm not saying that Wallace was more dominant at their best...but Robinson was out there having to score 25ppg or so, while Wallace had all the energy in the world for defense as he was terrible offensively. His peak he was just more active than Drob because of this and therefore he was more consistently super dominant than Drob.

That actually somewhat made sense but you could also apply that type of reasoning to Olajuwon because him and David basically had the same peak defensive stats with a rebound or two separating them so why not rank Ben over Hakeem then?

[houston]

Ben Wallace dude won championship as his team best player

[Smoke117]

Ben Wallace dude won championship as his team best player

That's debatable. Sheed or Chauncey could have easily said to be the best player on the 2004 championship Pistons team.

[oarabbus]

How does shotblocking make him a better all around defender though?

On Jordan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ZlHwMstDc)

On Shaq (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg3BiOw4TWo)

You could put Big Ben on Shaq, but put him on any decent 2 guard and you have a massive defensive liability.


How many guys can say they can play good D on LeBron and on Shaq :applause:

[dubeta]

LeBron mentored Ben Wallace to be the defender that he turned out to be :cheers:

http://www.spox.com/de/sport/ussport/0802/Bilder/NBA/514/wallace-lebron-514.jpg

[houston]

That's debatable. Sheed or Chauncey could have easily said to be the best player on the 2004 championship Pistons team.


:oldlol:

dude was the only all-star/all-nba/ all defense on his team. He clearly was the team most impactful player.

[I<3NBA]

Rodman.

[Paul George 24]

LeBron mentored Ben Wallace to be the defender that he turned out to be :cheers:

http://www.spox.com/de/sport/ussport/0802/Bilder/NBA/514/wallace-lebron-514.jpg

lebron is the most overrated defender :banana:
his defence is nothing to be good

[Paul George 24]

:oldlol:

dude was the only all-star/all-nba/ all defense on his team. He clearly was the team most impactful player.

sheed over big ben :rockon:

[FatComputerNerd]

Big Ben was more physically intimidating and blocked more shots, but give me Rodman any day of the week.

He was so much more versatile, on both ends of the court.

\

Nothing against Ben. All-time great defender no question, but I think Rodman has the edge.

[salwan]

Big Ben is my favourite player of all time, but this is a tough one. Both are alltimers tho and top 10 defenders of all time

[swagga]

this isn't as close as it seems, to me at least.

I'd go with big ben because he simply provided the framework for half the game. He was an elite rebounder, shot blocker, pnr defender, switcher,could guard any position if switched for that play, a true team anchor.

Rodman could only play the rebounder and player stopper role, exceptionally nonetheless, but he was never the foundation of the team.

IMO people don't realize that big ben brought more than stats he brought a mentality, a fire, much like KG. From a mental standpoint there are few defenders as tenacious and fear inspiring as prime ben. And he wouldn't do rodman insane shit that would make game planning hard... except punking fagggots like artest i guess :roll: Jokes aside big ben was a true professional, coachable, and a true mental backbone for detroit. You can't say this about rodman and leadership does help to win, especially in the playoffs. Now remember rodman without phil .... alot of inconsistency!

Also rodman could not contain some guys like karl malone & ewing and never went against prime shaq, just the younger unbulked shaq. He was amazing but he is overrated imo, he had the perfect environment in chicago (phil, just board + d on one guy). His colorful personality and being on those stakked bulls sides ups his legacy one tier. GOAT rebounder and exceptional 1v1 defender but defense is much more than rebounds and 1v1 , especially for THIS era (and the forseeable future).

Btw, DEFENSIVELY Drob was always a mentally soft dude, too lighthearted, got easily bullied in big moments (olympics, hakeem, shaq). That niggga big ben was scary tbh, the type grabs you by the ankles at the booty house.:lol I'll tell you one thing, you wouldn't see that nikka crying during the game.

The majority of coaches would go big ben, ESPECIALLY FOR THIS PERIMETER ORIENTED ERA where 1v1 defending is much less important as a defensive anchor.

[r0drig0lac]

Rodman was more versatile, but the defensive peak of Ben was more impactful

[jlip]

With Ben Wallace officially going to the Hall of Fame now, I figured this would be a good time to revisit this conversation.

[lakerstekkenn]

Big Ben was more powerful and a power player, Dennis was a finesse player, that was extremely strong & smart, you just can't chose who you would pic, because they were both incredible, but Ben had a better offensive game.


Who gets the rebound Big Ben or Rodman ? Big Ben after 5 minutes battling for it.

[taabhimself]

i love Ben with my heart and soul. i was barely alive to watch Rodman. Ben has a place deep in my heart. but if i had to pick one for my team today it's probably Rodman because of the importance of blending post and perimeter D.

[iamgine]

Ben Wallace might not even make the NBA today. His horrible offense plus all time bad FT shooting and perfectly exploitable defense would make it really hard.

[meat]

i love Ben with my heart and soul. i was barely alive to watch Rodman. Ben has a place deep in my heart. but if i had to pick one for my team today it's probably Rodman because of the importance of blending post and perimeter D.

Rodman played til 2000. You signed up for ISH in 2006. How old were you when you signed up? 10?

[taabhimself]

Rodman played til 2000. You signed up for ISH in 2006. How old were you when you signed up? 10?

lol barely alive to watch him play for Detroit*. I was trying to get across that I have a special place in my heart for Ben for that reason.

[Iverson3]

Rodman. He had a longer peak than Ben Wallace.

[rawimpact]

Ben Wallace without a doubt.

Rodman gets overrated because he played alongside the GOAT, rings and overall attention seeking persona

[FKAri]

Rodman's one of the few players whose defense would translate very well today.