The 1992 Olympics Dream Team is often regarded as the greatest collection of NBA talent on a single team. Michael Jordan was arguably the group’s best player, but the rest of the positions were up for grabs. During an appearance on The Pivot podcast, Charles Barkley claimed that he was the second-best player on the team.
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The squad boasted several all-time greats who were at the peak of their careers. Other greats, such as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, were in the last stretch of their careers. However, the conversation around the best player on the team was well-settled. After the clip of Barkley making that claim went viral, Isiah Thomas, who was infamously left out of the team, supported Chuck’s statement by sharing it on his Instagram story.
“Chuck Daly said to me, he said, ‘Charles, can I talk to you…you’re the second best basketball player in the world.’ I said, ‘Who’s better than me?’ He says, ‘That mother***er right there [Jordan]’. I said, ‘You’re right about that.’ And I’ve said it many times, that’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten from somebody,” Barkley said.
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But Barkley wasn’t going to be satisfied with being the second best. He took it as a challenge to prove himself next year in the NBA. The same year he moved to Phoenix with the dream of becoming an NBA Champion. He told his teammates that they were going into the Finals and that they should be ready to beat Jordan. Barkley made a run to the Finals, keeping his promise but couldn’t beat MJ’s Bulls.
Isiah Thomas agrees Chuck was the second best on the Dream Team pic.twitter.com/vNfUy4qJLm
— What are (W)NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) October 9, 2024
As for Barkley’s place on the Dream Team, he might not have received the same attention as MJ, Bird, or Magic, but he led the team in scoring, averaging 18 points per game. He also had the highest FG% with 71.1% and was third best in steals per game.
Charles Barkley cemented his legacy in the game
Even though the dream to be an NBA Champion remained unfulfilled, Barkley was the best version of himself in the next NBA season. Barkley took his Suns to the NBA Finals and had a faceoff against Michael Jordan. He averaged 27.3 points per game in the Finals with 13 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.2 steals.
It took multiple face-offs against the Michael Jordan for Charles Barkley to realize that he was the best player in the world. Chuck has said on many occasions that he truly believed nobody was better than him. His reasoning was based off him believing he played with ‘bums’ on the 76ers while MJ played with All-Star talent. Of course, losing to Jordan meant he had to concede the ‘best in the world’ title that he had conjured up in his head to Jordan.
His efforts, although admirable, weren’t enough to take down the mighty Bulls who were on a dream run, with the Suns losing in 6. Barkley did win his first and only league MVP title the same year. He averaged 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 52% from the field.
