# Rodman's North Korea basketball game. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 22, 2013, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945 "2013-12-22T10:32:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/41 "2014-01-06T20:38:52Z")
> [@](#): > > - A point is deducted for missed free throws Heck, a half-decent high schooler could beat Dennis Rodman under those rules. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/42 "2014-01-06T21:03:47Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > … > > - A point is deducted for missed free throws … That’s for Rodman and the Americans. The North Korean who misses a free throw may end up with a bullet in the head. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/43 "2014-01-06T21:04:40Z")
I certainly hope nobody thinks Rodman and his basketball comrades are traveling to the DPRK to educate Outstanding Leader Kim Jong-un on basketball. Rather, it is the other way around; they are there for instruction from the Outstanding Leader. Why, the very first time the Outstanding Leader handled the ball, he made a slam dunk from the free throw line. The _other_ free throw line. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/44 "2014-01-06T21:10:07Z")
Has anyone considered thw Rodman & Co are working for the CIA. I hope the Dear Leader doesn’t read The Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/45 "2014-01-07T21:00:46Z")
Ex-NBA player says from Pyongyang: “Oops.” > [@](#): > > Former NBA star Charles D. Smith says he feels remorse for coming to Pyongyang with Dennis Rodman for a game on the North Korean leader’s birthday because the event has been dwarfed by politics and tainted by Rodman’s own comments. . . . > > “I feel bad for Dennis, I feel bad for the players,” Smith said afterward, adding that when he played for the United States in the 1988 Olympics he felt elation. > > “I felt huge, I felt on top of the world. But I feel the reverse now,” he said. "I feel a lot of remorse for the guys because we are doing something positive, but it’s a lot bigger than us. We are not naive, we understand why things are being portrayed the way they are. We can’t do anything about that, if we could we would. > > “We’re not skilled in those particular areas,” he added. “Dennis is definitely not skilled in those particular areas.” [http://news.yahoo.com/ex-nba-player-says-nkorea-game-dwarfed-politics-144353200--spt.html](http://news.yahoo.com/ex-nba-player-says-nkorea-game-dwarfed-politics-144353200--spt.html) ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/46 "2014-01-07T22:44:40Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I wonder if the exhibition game will be under North Korean basketball rules: > > - Slam dunks are worth three points (up from two) > > - Field goals in the final three minutes of the game are worth eight points (up from two) > > - Three-pointers are worth four if the ball doesn’t touch the rim > > - A point is deducted for missed free throws > > No, this is apparently not a joke. I… kinda like some of those rules. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/47 "2014-01-08T18:52:57Z")
There’s no surprise that Rodman had a melt down at the press conference. That’s The Worm doing his thang. I think Charles D. Smith and the other players are hoping something positive comes from this. At least 14000 people had a few pleasant hours of entertainment. I doubt that happens very often in N Korea. Rodman sang Happy Birthday. I hope it wasn’t a reenactment of Marilyn Monroe’s version for JFK. 😛 That would be… awkward. 😃 > **[‘Happy Birthday, Mr. Dictator’: Dennis Rodman sings for Kim Jong Un](https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/01/08/happy-birthday-mr-dictator-dennis-rodman-sings-for-kim-jong-un/)** > > He sang “Happy Birthday” to a demented dictator. Dennis Rodman sang crooned for Kim Jong Un on Wednesday as the basketball star’s critics continued to slam him for not lobbying th… > [@](#): > > he capacity crowd of 14,000 at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium exploded in applause when Rodman concluded. Kim is believed to be in his early 30s. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/48 "2014-01-08T18:54:57Z")
Shucks, who could have imagined that Dennis Rodman doesn’t have nuanced views on global politics and can’t take criticism? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/49 "2014-01-08T19:34:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Rodman sang Happy Birthday. I hope it wasn’t a reenactment of Marilyn Monroe’s version for JFK. 😛 That would be… awkward. 😃 I heard a clip of that on the radio. Certainly sounded like that’s what he was going for. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/50 "2014-01-08T19:53:33Z")
He also [praised Kim](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303848104579308390280395698) as “a great leader” who “provides for his people” and thanked god that “the people here love the marshal.” ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/51 "2014-01-08T20:57:39Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > At least 14000 people had a few pleasant hours of entertainment. I doubt that happens very often in N Korea. I really think you need to read the news with a more critical eye, because the audience at the game was unquestionably the elite of North Korea, who aren’t the ones worrying about where they might get their next meal. Seriously, this is like saying the $2 million birthday party that [Dennis Kozlowski](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Kozlowski) threw for his wife helped to raise the spirits of the invitees, who needed to be cheered up after the economic downturn in early 2001. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945/52 "2014-01-09T17:29:33Z")
Here’s a description of the attendees of the game, straight from the [horse’s mouth.](http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201401/news08/20140108-24ee.html) > [@](#): > > Among the spectators were foreign diplomatic envoys, representatives of international bodies, military attaches and their wives, staff members of various embassies, foreign guests and overseas Koreans staying in the motherland. Like **aceplace57** says, those poor sods probably don’t get much entertainment in their lives. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodmans-north-korea-basketball-game/676945.md?page=2)