Rodman elected to Hall of Fame

Associated Press

HOUSTON

Dennis Rodman earned plenty of labels during his sometimes turbulent NBA career.

Here’s one the player who created chaos on — and sometimes off — the court never expected: Hall of Famer. Rodman headlined the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2011 class announced on Monday at the Final Four, a group that includes former Dream Team member Chris Mullin and Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer.

“It’s just unreal,” Rodman said.

And somewhat unexpected, at least to the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and five-time NBA champion who believed his extracurricular activities — including donning a wedding dress to marry himself and kicking a photographer in the groin — would overshadow his on-the-court accomplishments.

Also part of the class were: coaches Tex Winter, innovator of the triangle offense, and Philadelphia University’s Herb Magee; longtime NBA and ABA star Artis Gilmore; former Portland Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis; Olympic gold medalist Teresa Edwards; Harlem Globetrotter Reece “Goose” Tatum; and Boston Celtic Tom “Satch” Sanders.

Winter refined the triangle offense and helped the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers win nine NBA championships as an assistant to Phil Jackson. He retired following the 2006 season, capping a career that included a successful stint at Kansas State, where he led the Wildcats to two Final Fours.

Winter learned the triangle while playing for Sam Barry at USC in the 1940s then spent decades tweaking it.

The system focused on sharing the ball and allowed Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen to flourish with the Bulls.

He later followed Jackson to the Lakers, where the triangle let Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal cohabitate successfully on their way to three straight titles.