Craig Sager Says He Stopped Dennis Rodman From Suicide: 'He Had the Gun'

Craig Sager is beloved for his bright suits, colorful courtside interviews and deep NBA knowledge. But as it turns out, we also have him to thank for Dennis Rodman still being alive.

In an in-depth interview with Sports Illustrated released Wednesday,the “NBA on TNT” reporter looked back on his illustrious career and recalled how he talked the former Chicago Bulls out of killing himself.

While he was playing for the Detroit Pistons in 1993, Rodman went AWOL and planned to commit suicide — until Sager tracked him down on the second floor of a Detroit strip club called the Landing Strip, Sager recalled.

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“He had the gun. He was going to do it. I told him how stupid that would be.”

Fortunately, Rodman survived and went on to entertain fans both on and off the court for years. Future adventures included dating Madonna, wearing a wedding dress to promote his 1996 autobiography “Bad as I Wanna Be,” marrying Carmen Electra, becoming a part-time wrestler, appearing on “Celebrity Mole” and — most daringly — befriending North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and traveling to the Communist country in 2013.

Oh, and he is also a five-time NBA champion and two-time NBA All-Star.

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Sager, on the other hand, has had a far more balanced and illustrious career since becoming a sports reporter in 1972. He joined Turner Sports in 1981 and is currently in his 17th season as sideline reporter for TNT’s exclusive Thursday night NBA doubleheader coverage.

Now 64, Sager was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014 and underwent transplants of bone marrow and stem cells received from his son. Sager announced in March that, after being in remission, the leukemia had returned and that “uncharted waters” lie ahead of him.

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Sager still lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, but he spends most of his time at the Marriott Medical Center in Houston, Texas, where he is in the midst of a clinical trial. He recently told HBO’s “Real Sports” that he had been given three-to-six months to live. But that was the prognosis for a patient without treatment, according to Sports Illustrated, and he is receiving the best care available.

“A patient who battles this past a year is amazing,” his doctor, Naveen Pemmaraju, says in the Sports Illustrated story. “What he’s done is almost miraculous.”

Lamar Odom and 13 Other Sports Stars Who Battled Addiction (Photos)

Michael Phelps
The Olympic swimmer got DUIs in 2004 and again in 2014, resulting in a suspension from U.S/ Swimming. Kellogs also dropped Phelps as a spokesperson in 2009 when photos leaked of him apparently smoking marijuana from a bong.
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Darryl Strawberry
The former Mets, Dodgers and Yankees slugger was suspended three times by the MLB for substance abuse, which resulted in a number of arrests and visits to rehab.
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Diego Maradona
The Argentinian soccer legend battled cocaine addiction from the mid-80s to 2004. After being rushed to the hospital in 2000 with heart problems, he was treated for alcohol-related hepatitis.
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Josh Hamilton
Texas Rangers outfielder started experimenting with drugs in 2001. He then got clean after being confronted by his grandmother, but relapsed in 2009, 2012 and most recently, in Feb. 2015.
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Ricky Williams
The New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins player began taking marijuana to ease social anxiety disorder, prompting a surprise retirement from the NFL in 2004. He later returned but failed at least two subsequent drug tests after being reinstated.
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Lawrence Taylor
New York Giants linebacker tested positive for cocaine in 1987. He quit shortly after but relapsed upon retirement.
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Donte Stallworth
The Cleveland Browns wide receiver was charged with DUI manslaughter after he struck and killed a pedestrian while driving his car in March 2009. Following a plea deal, he received a sentence of 30 days in the county jail and 8 years probation.
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Charles Barkley
The NBA star turned TNT analyst was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008 for DUI after running a stop sign. According to the police report, Barkley was in a hurry to receive oral sex from his female passenger. He spent three days in jail and entered an alcohol treatment program.
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Michael Irvin
In March 1996, the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver was arrested on charges of cocaine possession when police found him lying on the floor covered in cocaine with multiple strippers. Irvin pled no contest to the charges and the NFL suspended him for five games.
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Nate Newton
Nate Newton made six Pro Bowls in the NFL before being busted for marijuana, earning him two-and-a-half years in a federal prison.
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Todd Marinovich
The quarterback was busted for cocaine at USC before being drafted by the NFL. While playing for the Oakland Raiders, he began taking LSD during games. After numerous NFL suspensions, he ended up at the Canadian Football League, where he started with heroin. At one point Marinovich severely cut his hand with a crack pipe during halftime.
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Len Bias
Bias, an All-American college basketball forward at the University of Maryland, was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. He died two days later from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose at age 22.
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Dock Ellis
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ellis threw a no-hitter on June 12, 1970, claiming to have done it under the influence of LSD. He also had a substance abuse problem, and acknowledged after his retirement that he never pitched without the use of drugs.
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