Michael Jordan was Kim Jong-Un’s first choice, but after his refusal, Dennis Rodman joined North Korea.
Dennis Rodman has had experiences that not many alive today can say they have shared in their own lives. The eccentric basketball personality continually transcended what was expected of him, becoming an enigma to fans and the media whenever he did anything in public.
Whether he showed up to his book signing in a wedding dress or was called over 100 times by the police, ‘The Worm’ was a character of pure fiction in the 1990s and early 2000s. One of the more random things Dennis Rodman has indulged in in recent decades is his relationship with North Korea.
North Korea isn’t exactly the friendliest country in the world and is ruled by dictator Kim Jong-Un, a man many don’t consider merciful or just. Rodman, on the other hand, showed up in North Korea along with a documentary crew from Vice and 3 Harlem Globetrotters in 2013 knowing nothing about the country or its political status.
Dennis Rodman was not Kim Jong-Un’s first choice
After that initial visit from Dennis Rodman, the two met and built a strong relationship. So much so that Rodman frequented North Korea between 2013 and today as if it were a vacation.
The reasoning behind this attempt at basketball diplomacy was that Kim was very fond of the 1990s Chicago Bulls. Of course, as any basketball fan would, he wanted to meet Michael Jordan. According to Rodman, Jordan denied.
“Basically, he asked Michael Jordan first, and Michael Jordan said ‘No.
‘ So he asked about me and I said yes.”
This is what started the whole Rodman-Jong-Un relationship. Essentially, the North Korean dictator settled for the rebounding legend after striking out on ‘Su Airness’ from him.
