Photo courtesy Steve & Barry’s

With all the drama going on with the Chicago Bulls right now, we thought we’d run this 10 Sense interview with Ben Wallace that can be found in the current issue of Dime. If you believe all the stuff you hear about Wallace being a clubhouse cancer, his take on his role as team leader is pretty interesting …

10 things straight from …
Ben Wallace
NBA champion, 4-time Defensive Player of the Year, 33

Make no mistake: Ben Wallace was given a boatload of money specifically to bring the Chicago Bulls an NBA championship. In the summer of ’06, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year finalized a controversial divorce from the Detroit Pistons by signing a four-year, $60 million deal with the Bulls – a young team in need of a leader, defensive stalwart and championship-experienced vet to take them to the top of the East. But Ben’s first year in Chicago didn’t turn out the way the Bulls fans and franchise hoped it would. His 6.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game were lower than any of his season averages during his Detroit run, and while the Bulls got past Miami in the first round of the playoffs, they couldn’t get past the Pistons in the conference semis. On top of that, Ben received some negative press stemming from his feud with coach Scott Skiles over a couple of team rules, most notably the one prohibiting headbands. This year Ben’s trademark headband is back, the Bulls are expected to seriously contend in the East, and their leader is increasing his profile with the Big Ben Wallace Collection (through Starbury, sold at Steve & Barry’s) of affordable sneakers and apparel debuting this season.

1. I guard everybody, from Shaq to A.I. – it doesn’t matter where they’re at on the floor. I play everyone straight-up; just stay in front of them and contest all shots. As long as you’re contesting shots and forcing guys to miss instead of relaxing, sitting on your heels and hoping they miss, you’re doing your job.

2. Rebounding is about desire. The ball goes up, and you got 10 guys out there; it’s all about who wants it the most. And the person that wants it the most is usually the guy who ends up with it.

3. It wasn’t hard for me to assume a leadership role [with the Bulls] because I’m not a person who goes out there and does a lot of hollering and yelling and tries to tell guys what to do. I just go out there and play the game, lead by example.

4. I wore the (2004) championship ring for a little while. Right now it’s at the house. I pull it out every now and then to remind myself what the game is all about. I pulled it out in the playoffs and showed all my teammates to motivate them and let them know that this is what’s at the end of the tunnel.

5. My workouts are tough. I work out three to four times a week – lifting, running, playing pickup, riding a bike, just trying to stay active. There are times when I feel myself getting restless, so I’ll go to the gym so I don’t allow myself to fall into “vacation” mode.

6. My personal style? Jeans and a t-shirt.

7. I don’t regret anything (from the feuds with Skiles and Pistons coach Flip Saunders). We’re all different. We all got different upbringings, different backgrounds. We all come in different shapes and different sizes. We’re not all gonna get along and be friends. I know that. As long as people aren’t talking about how I do my job or saying I’m slacking on the court – that’s something I might take offense to – but if me and you can’t get along off the court, it really doesn’t matter. As long as you do your job and I do my job.

8. The Celtics asked me to come to camp (in 1996), and when I got there they were grouping us, like “Bigs down here, guards down here.” I start walking down to the bigs and they called me back and said, “You’re a guard.” Going from all my life playing center or power forward, and now I’m trying to make it to the next level and I have to step out on he floor and play guard, I didn’t know what to think. I thought, “I’m gonna give it a shot,” but I really wanted to be down there mixing it up in the paint.

9. I tell everybody, my shoes by no stretch of the imagination are cheap. They’re very affordable. “Cheap” is something that people just threw together. These are the same shoes I’m gonna be wearing on the court, the same shoes Steph is gonna be wearing. They’re gonna hold up next to any other shoe out there. And parents can buy 2-3 pairs of these sneakers and still feel good that they can pay their bills at the end of the month.

10. If I wasn’t playing basketball, I’d probably have my law degree by now.

Dime 39 can be found on newsstands now