Basketball - They Made The Game a Worldwide Game

Why do people talk so much about dreams in sports? Seasons of dreams. Dream showdowns. Dream opportunities. They do it because so much of sports is about imagining how you want things to be if only the environment were right. It was one of those times that none of us will ever forget the perfect characters i don't know anything about angola but angola is in trouble the perfect time 11 halls of fame i don't think you could ever do that again if only it could be As you would have imagined yourself, training camp began on June 22, 1992 in La Jolla, California, and when the gym doors opened, no one was quite sure what to expect, especially the players themselves, there are many egos in a gym and in a team for everyone.

I wanted their form to shine and show why

they

were part of this team with all these stars in the team. If it all comes down to the last shot, who is going to take the shot? I, everyone in the world has an ego, the only difference between us, us. We have a reason to have an ego, each of us felt like we were all and when practice started that first day all the players seemed to be trying to prove how great

they

were, it was a very competitive practice and I'm thinking, are we? all? on the same team patrick i won't play with dave don't play against him then you'll hear michael said i don't want to be on magic's team i want to play against him all the evaluations of michael jordan at that time were good but he's never Magic Johnson in my nature competitive.

I want to use everything he can muster so I can gain an advantage. Carl Malone. He's the only one who would compare to me in the forward position, so I want to prove that I was. the best power forward in the world, Charles, yes, he is a great talent. Do I think it's better that we stop it? So let's do this so when it's over, you'll be thinking I'm pretty good too. The first practice. Barkley drives the baseline. and carl malone jumps like that barkley just dunked it so hard it was just an amazing play i felt like man i can't believe i'm a part of this practice a few days later the team had a chance to get acclimated to playing.

The same side, Chuck Elliott, scheduled practice against a select group of college players, a group excited to face their idols. I found out today that I might be getting a little full-court magic, so you know, things are just happening for me. It really makes me happy a lot of those people that have admired Barclay Malone, a lot of those people talk about confidence and I think it's going to be a good matchup, you know, it's no advantage for either side for the college players, it was a chance. Seeing how they would face the best in the world for Coach Daley was an opportunity to make his stars grow as a single unit.

I think we're somewhere between an all-star

game

mentality and trying to come together as a team where we have to continually work on this on a daily basis had been hired for their ability to handle personalities and egos and when the fight started it became It was evident that his players had left one of their greatest weapons, those egos, somewhere else: non-fans. I'd think they'll go in there and everyone will want their own ball and Jordan will hog the ball and you know the magic will be dribbling all over the place. In fact, it was exactly the opposite, they surpassed her.

It was like I didn't want to start, you know, you do it and before you know it, the select team was beating us by 10. We didn't know how to play with each other, we didn't want to step on anyone's toes. nor hurt any ego and then these young kids were killing us we weren't interested and we paid for it chris webber was a man, i thought, boy, that's the guy coming to this league, he could get out of here bobby hurley was dominant, Yes he had some success in penetrating and collapsing the defense and our energy, our enthusiasm to play, all those things worked in our favor, Bobby Hurley did not play two seasons in the npa, however, it exposed the only weakness they could have had, which It's defending against fast guards who were playing very well then I realized that Michael Jordan wasn't playing I'm saying something Chuck then said we're good you know we're good Daley saw how his players couldn't make up the deficit and in their first out test competition the dream team lost a story their coach didn't want the press to get their hands on the teams they posed together for a photo they both weren't sure what to make of what had just happened, but the man in charge may have had the response that's through the

game

, you know, pass the game if you look at how much Jordan played and how the secondary guys didn't respond or make any adjustments, I knew what it was, it was legit, it felt tremendous, you know what we were doing that day , You know?

They couldn't stop it, there are kids who also believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and now that they're grown up, I hate to burst their bubble, but it was a released game, not many people would have done it and they did, it was gratifying for us to have our speed like that because now we had to hear it here the next day, training camp ended with a rematch against the college kids and once the game started, everything

made

sense again, the tables were turned drastically, we showed them why, being who we are, we pretty much beat him by a hundred, they couldn't score and by the way, Jordan played a lot more in the next practice game before the dream team could play in the 1992 Olympics, they had to. qualifying the place to do it was portland oregon and the americas tournament would be the first opportunity for the public to see the stars of the nba together in a game especially jordan bird and magic daly had asked the three to be captains of the team but jordan I had turned it down, I knew how much it meant to both guys because they never got the chance to play in the Olympics, so I would say you know what Chuck, don't worry about me, you know, let these old dogs do it, magic and birds.

Not only were they the oldest players on the team, they were also the most revered. They had entered the league together in 1979, embarking on a rivalry that had redefined the NBA, and along the way, their personal admiration for each other had grown. Maddie is just a great

basketball

player. He is the best I have ever seen, you know, he is incredible, I don't know what to say, in 1992 they would have the opportunity to share the ball, but the opportunity would come at the end of their careers. Bird had given his soul to the game, but after so many years his body was betraying him, he had back problems, it got to the point where you just couldn't play, I mean, you couldn't, you couldn't think, you couldn't move, you couldn't run.

Do you know if you can? I can't feel your feet, it's hard to run. Larry was on the fence because of his back, so I said, man, lb, you gotta play, man, you gotta play, this is our last chance to be together, magic could convince his old friend to play. But at the beginning of the 1991-92 NBA season he was forced to retire after learning that he had the HIV virus. Doctors would eventually clear him to play in the Olympics, although that didn't stop the fears. There are many players who really did it. They don't want him to play, they want to play with him against him because no one knew what the disease meant.

You know, they said to get some blood on you. You have HIV. Breathe. Know. I never bought any of that. You know, it's just you. just keep pushing, keep going magic had

made

a cameo in the 1992 all star game and had turned his attention to the olympic games waiting for the encore of a lifetime with his old rival our careers were really over and it was something I thought had to happen for both of us, his debut would take place in the portland rose garden and his team would need to meddle in the americas tournament to qualify for the olympics, which seemed like a inevitable conclusion for almost everyone. including their first opponents who were completely amazed before the game even started, the Cuban team spontaneously kneels as if 12 popes had passed on Easter Sunday, at which point the idea that this is simply a

basketball

game has been shattered . it was a surreal feeling she's like dude we're here to kick the shit out of you all and they want to take pictures with you then the game starts magic and larry come out together two guys who saved the league and wouldn't even play in this game.

Without those two and the magic pass, the ball, Larry makes the first basket, I mean, you know, it just doesn't get any better than America was on and the result was something beautiful and no one seemed more excited. share the court that the co-captains' opening night was a resounding success and the outcome was never in doubt and at the end of the game, the fans in Portland decided they wanted a curtain call from a three-time MVP, the crowd began to cheer for Larry Larry there. Larry Bird's entrance a standing ovation and as he had done so many other times in his career Larry Bird rose to the occasion Jordan Yes, you knew Larry Burt was not going to miss that shot it was a practically perfect performance the final The margin victory was 77 points and the reverse magic paved the way for the magic in particular after a year away from the game, the victory had a special meaning living with hiv, without even thinking that he would ever have the opportunity to play basketball and then basketball for the united states there was therapy for me and I needed it in the worst way and then there was the matter of making sure that michael jordan knew that he was back too, yeah, you're here with the captain, look at the captain, he says, Sit down, that's it.

Well, take a seat if you're going to fall, oh, that's going to happen, that's the seniority right now, I know with magic and Michael, there was that little extra there, you know, and something to prove to each other, I took it upon myself to do it myself. always shoot with michael okay mj free throws today was the first to reach fifty or we had little games who was the better shooter i didn't want to give up that control of the 80s in a sense even though we were going into the 90s, don't touch the phone with one hand, don't touch it, you know, he just missed a whole year, so who can win, who will get the bragging rights at the end of this trip.

You can't get too close to Michael. michael's archive has always tried to let people know that he is a top dog and in whatever way that is just his competitive mode while the winner of magic and michael's can you top this challenge were left in doubt when it came to facing the competition in the tournament of the americas. The team stayed together, we took the court in Portland, where they know we are home. We wanted to show it to the fans who will represent them. Leadership is fertile. Steel Jordan Jordan. There has been a message around the world today like all of you.

They can give up using it Foreigners can give up on steel Stockton prepared them perfectly The Americans won their six games in the tournament by an average of 50 points Very good Larry Your impressions of the nice game The gold medal was not a surprise so Lo Unexpected were the team's interactions with their opponents, who showered them with adulation before, after, and even during the games. Patrick Johnson and the handshake after the shot. The Americas tournament had fulfilled its purpose. The United States had qualified for the Barcelona games and given the world its first glimpse of what was coming next, I just want to say that this is summer, a small step towards what really is our goal: getting to Barcelona, win the gold medal and bring him back to where he was supposed to be.

They would carry out several days of practice in Monte. carlo and play one more tune-up before going to the olympic games the luxurious setting on the mediterranean sea was appropriate for what may have already been the most famous team in the world monte carlo is one of those glamorous cities and here we were with the team more glamorous Still, it was something of a rock star, the players were relaxed, confident and willing to admit that there is more to the journey than just basketball. I don't worry about playing basketball, that's natural, I just want to have fun. david robinson passing your michael jordan this is like spring break in the ghetto chuck says okay this is what's going to happen let's play like a real game let's play four quarters we had me scottie mullins bird and patrick and magic had his fights, we were not going to change that team at any time you have your father, I have my five, we gave them to the boy from the university, you can have Christian Likener, we don't want him, you can have them, he is there waiting to tag . but it was about pride and the college boy couldn't help any of the team members.

Michael Jordan called Clyde and left Adam, tell him this is what I'm going to do to you. You, so I said no, Clyde, you better get it back, you better get it back, Charles Barkley said now I want to take the car home alone, so Charles gets it by the way, good jumper,I said, oh Carl, you have to get it back, you better come down. there and get it back I went right at him jump shot you're nothing you're nothing barkley so I lowered his energy is too high it feels like he's in for a chance to prove himself shows that hey look I'm Still, Magic Johnson, we should keep going dominating this game.

The magic said that you are not the guy and that you have other players in this gym. Don't fool me. It doesn't take much for Michael to get just a little bit. to pinch it and that's it, he never liked to lose. Mike always had that look. When you see that look, then you know, just grab the damn ball and get out of the way. As much as it was five against five, we could see in Monte Carlo that he was gravitating towards OK Michael and Magic Magic was hesitant to give up his spot on the top of the mountain and Michael being Michael needed to say no, I'm on top of the mountain now Max was saying look mba it's not yours you still know I'm still here michael it's like no, it's over this is mine and the funny thing was that Larry was sitting on his side, he was going, it was his chuck, he realized that the competition aspect It was getting too high, killing everyone on our team, I wanted to end practice, but Magic didn't want to end because I wanted to keep playing. because we just kicked his ass, how do you like that kick in the ass when we gave you no, no, no, come on, well everyone got the first quarter when practice ended, even magic had to acknowledge that the basketball landscape had forever changed, larry. and i was talking and michael walks in and says he's a new sheriff in town moments ago the dream team boarded the bus outside their hotel along the rhombus they're headed to their first showdown in barcelona with the angolans i can remember The first game, the actual game came out of the locker room and I walked onto the court and finally said to myself: "I can't believe this.

I'm here at that moment we were in serious Olympic mode. This may actually be the biggest mismatch of the Games entire Olympics largely out of the beautiful, it was just a tremendous atmosphere because you appreciated how great the American players were after the first half, Barkley's pre-game prediction seemed accurate, but in the second, Charles found some problems Hey, the players in Angola they play against. South Barclay told me there's no key, the fat boy is very aggressive on the pain rebound, well Charles is getting a little aggressive, I thought they were playing dirty and he I told the old man no, I don't even know if he understood.

Hey man, he's on the elbow partly because of Pippin. I let him go twice, you can see the frustration and the next time I just broke it and a technical foul was called on Bartlett until the day he died, Charles claims the guy elbowed him three times. people always say turn the other cheek if you turn that cheek i will turn the other cheek i also thought what are you doing john the guy is half your size but you know charles is an equal opportunity abuser erlander kodimbra didn't think it was like that a friendly elbow, that's the same guy who just asked for an autograph, charles, i mean, do you think he hasn't bullied the united states from 116 to 48?

The game could have ended in one round, but afterward the result was overshadowed by controversy, well the elbow was kept. he hit me i hit him that's how things are charles made you look like ugly americans which we were trying not to do we said the child look man you're a reflection of all of us so if you do it they're not going to writing the article that charles barkley did they are going to say that the dream team barkley had tainted a dream debut for the americans, but in their next game against croatia scottie pippen and michael jordan steal the spotlight with the focus on their confrontation with one of best players in europe, tony cucoch, the main plot that unfolds in this game involves tony cucoch, a second round pick of the chicago bulls in 1989, the bulls made a strong effort to sign him last season, at that time the league's general managers were trying to find gems, you know, they made their discoveries overseas and krause thought this guy could play in the nba while jordan and pippin had been winning back-to-back titles, chicago general manager jerry krause, had been publicly open to coaching to join the bulls, krause was recruiting this guy and talking about how great he was, you know, it's like a dad who has all his kids and now sees another kid he loves more than the his, so we weren't playing against Coach Tony Two, we were playing against Jerry Krause. in a Croatian uniform, but unfortunately for the real Tony Kuch, he was now the target of the two best defensive players in the world.

We knew the world would be watching. We knew everyone wanted to see what coach Tony Cu was like and we were going to give it to them. He gave him the worst experience he has ever had on the basketball court, Pippin was given the initial task of following the cuckoos and harassed the Croatian from the opening whistle. Tony definitely wasn't shooting and wasn't going to score for four and hasn't contributed anything. We wanted to go protect him on the bench due to the offensive foul and the pressure continued and after knocking down more pairs, it was Jordan.

Turn here, I had questions from my teammates during the game, like what's going on, what did they do, can't you see they're really trying to get you off the court and we were like, I guess this is what the NBA game is like? pippen jordan played and the americans achieved another victory, this time by 38 points, but the dominance had its detractors irvin there have been some comments that the dream team is getting all the attention and there seems to be some resentment about it, have you heard of that? Do you have any feelings about it? Basically, you know we haven't heard of it.

We're just here to do our job. The media may have been looking for signs of a backlash, but in Barcelona and in the world beyond the embrace of the The Dream Team was universal, you'll stand out rude against Picasso, I mean, seriously, they supported the genius in the job. I kept thinking the attention would fade, they'd play the first game and win by 60 people. Let's go back and look at Jordan in transition to give Team USA a 60-point lead. It was not so? He kept building and building and the construction workers were trying to get autographs, the security people were trying to get autographs, all the athletes were standing.

Next door, like in a parade, people perceived us as superheroes, the guy on the bench was taking pictures and I said, wow, we are having an effect here, we turned towards another easy victory in this his fifth game of the Olympic Games, It was as if the president of the United States was in the middle of a caravan that was going through the streets like the Beatles where there are thousands and thousands of people waiting all the time those are the most exciting 15 seconds of my life for the players the surreal experiences were have become the norm, but even more memorable with the unlikely friendships that developed behind the curtain, it was a unique mix, you know, Larry Bird and Patrick Young became best friends.

I have a white boy from Indiana and a brother from Jamaica. Patrick said he could choose his opinion. He took me three minutes, now he has a chance to come back and start bothering mine, so he won. We were probably two of the most unlikely people you thought would be friends, but if you look at it it's not just Larry and I that have to be great. friends, but all those guys became best friends, we all enjoyed each other, we all enjoyed the trip and we felt each other like men and then when we got to the court, everything was even better.

The dream team chemistry worked out. be the hallmark of their success as the players got closer to what they came for. Their large margins of victory may have been a testament to their dominance, but the numbers failed to capture what made them such unforgettable boys who played the best basketball you've ever seen. Have you ever seen it in your life it was literally like great poetry or great art sometimes you feel like you're watching a concert performance instead of a basketball competition this was fun this was how I was supposed to watch basketball and At the center of the fun he was the team's biggest star, he would come to Barcelona at the peak of his powers and show how much his popularity had skyrocketed.

I will say there is one thing about Michael Jordan. I've been around other celebrities in my life. I've never seen people react like that. they make him people go crazy when they see him in every corner of the world there was someone who just wanted to see him no one had the kind of attraction the gravity that michael jordan made the dream team face croatia again in the gold medal game giving the world a more lasting impression of your supremacy with the leadership of Team USA came to send a message tonight we wanted to win we wanted to dominate but how we did it sharing the ball including everyone we did it as a true team 117 a 85 here in Barcelona there was never any doubt that the dream team would win gold, but when they returned to the field to get their medals, in the moment that still overwhelms them, many tears were seen from the players, it was a moment of great joy. pride for me because every time you represent your country, you know it's a proud thing, man, it gives me chills, it was a reward, I had never felt like I would ever get to do it on that stage with that group of guys, it's a memory.

I will never forget anything in my life that was like being on that podium. I got goosebumps every time I heard the national anthem. After that, it had a different meaning to me. I knew what it really meant. You know, when I was a kid. I used to watch the Olympics on TV with my dad and all he talked about was the star-spangled banner and the gold medal made him proud to be an American, to be on that podium that night and receive it, my father, you have been so proud during all those. The emotions just overcame me.

I have to be one of the boys once again for my country. I said man, I never forget this moment. You know, if this is the end, this is how I wanted to go out. This group may very well be the best team of all time. reunited in the history of team sports, but as the medal ceremony ended, another realization began to set in as I left. I remember thinking that the whole dream had come to an end next season, all the olympians except magic johnson and larry bird would return to the nba michael jordan and scottie pippen would win their third title against charles barkley and the phoenix suns in the En route to six championships overall, the last three with Tony Cucoch, eventually other members of the team would also win titles that every NBA player on the dream team would achieve.

Still, the hall of fame is what they did together that summer that had the biggest impact on the game, an impact that continues to grow today, truly elevated basketball and gave rise to international stars who had nothing to do with it. with those games in '92, but I took a lot from that, we made the game a world game. You know, I talked to Tony Parker, I talked to Ginobili, I talked to Dirk Nowitzki. Those guys say their first love for basketball started with the Dream Team and I'm very proud of that. The world can change a lot in 20 years, but there are moments that you never forget, no matter how much time has passed, no matter how much has changed in your life, because 20 years later, everyone has maintained ties to the game in one way or another . another and they all talked about the summer of '92 as if it happened yesterday, an experience still unlike any other in their remarkable basketball lives.

I've never had more fun being with someone, everyone got along, there was no ego, we had fun, you know that clearly. Everyone reminds me that I never won a championship, so for me it was like winning the championship, winning the gold medal and hanging out with these guys. The reward itself is only a small part of the story; It is what the gold medal represents that will always unite them. men together this is like this it's pretty incredible I don't think you can ever get 11 hall of famers all playing at once you know, on a team, that's unheard of, let's go on the bus, come back, leave the hotel, wave, wave outside your window, I can't believe it changed the sport as we know it, they showed the world how to play basketball, one of the team members can say I don't think we'll ever see anything like that.

Again, it's an insult to compare anyone else to that team, look well, we may never see such a great team again. That will not happen to any team. That hasn't happened. And that is the dream you have.