LOS ANGELES (AP) – Seven-time NBA rebounding champion Dennis Rodman wants to make another comeback. Seriously.

“It has been two years going nuts, partying, and in the last four months I’ve lost 18 pounds and I am getting mentally prepared to return to the NBA,” Rodman said Friday at a news conference. “This is no hoax, this is real. I want to perform like I did in those Chicago days.”

The 42-year-old Rodman, who has a history of run-ins with the law, was a key member of three championship teams with the Bulls from 1996-98. He also played for two championship teams with the Detroit Pistons earlier in his career.

“My choice would be to play for the Kings or Lakers because I want to live in California, but if the Nets are interested, I would go there,” Rodman said.

The controversial 6-foot-8 forward hasn’t played since being released by the Dallas Mavericks after a 13-game stint late in the 1999-2000 season.

He played in 23 games with the Lakers before being released late in the 1998-99 season. Before that, he played seven seasons with the Pistons, two with the San Antonio Spurs and three with the Chicago Bulls. He began his NBA career in 1986 in Detroit.

Rodman averaged a career-high 18.7 rebounds in the 1991-92 season – the most in the NBA since Wilt Chamberlain averaged 19.2 in the 1971-72 season.

He has had his share of troubles off the court. Since retiring from the NBA, Newport Beach police have gone to Rodman’s home more than 70 times because of loud parties. He also was convicted of drunken driving.

A year ago, he was arrested and accused of obstructing officers investigating a code violation at his seaside restaurant. Prosecutors did not press charges.

AP-ES-07-18-03 1644EDT