The Dream Team is widely considered to be the greatest squad ever assembled. For a roster studded with superstars, the 1992 Team USA was surprisingly cohesive. They played as if they had always been together. However, surprisingly, they had almost negligible experience playing together. In the book When the Game Was Ours, it was revealed that the Dream Team barely practiced together before games. Players like Michael Jordan instead spent most of their time on their hobbies. In fact, he regularly played 36 holes of golf in a day leading up to a game.
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When the Dream Team was created, there were speculations that they would not work out well together. Every piece of the roster had their own swagger and usually, it is extremely difficult to maintain so much talent coming together.
Fortunately, by letting Magic Johnson lead the team, Michael set a tone for the rest. He made it clear that winning for the country held greater importance compared to individual glory. But once they were in Barcelona, the Dream Team realized the competition was a little too easy to overcome.
The Dream Team rarely practiced during the Barcelona Olympics
On paper, a team that contains the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley sounds absolutely dreamy. But in reality, the immense egos and larger-than-life personalities rarely gel when made to work together.
But by sacrificing the lead role and letting Magic Johnson and Larry Bird run the team, Jordan set the agenda. They were in Barcelona to win and they had to do whatever was needed.
But once the tournament started, Team USA realized there was barely any resistance from the opposition. Dream Team just trampled everything in their way. This made the stars realize that practices were not that necessary in the tournament. In fact, Jordan was so unaffected by the level of the competition, that he would often play golf until 10 minutes before a game.
The book When The Game Was Ours revealed story: “The actual basketball games turned out to be a mere formality. It was a foregone conclusion that the Dream Team would advance to the medal round, and they rarely practiced once they got to Barcelona. Michael Jordan routinely played 36 holes of golf a day, sometimes finishing up 10 minutes before the team bus pulled out of the hotel.”
Chuck Daly never called a timeout during the 1992 Olympics. Still my favorite Dream Team fact. pic.twitter.com/5rcnTxM6vX
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) October 24, 2022
Michael Jordan was offered co-captainship of the team
Leading up to the 1992 Olympics, Michael Jordan had won two back-to-back MVPs and 2 championships. He was undeniably the best player in the world and he had found global fame.
Chuck Daly, the coach of the team, offered Jordan co-captainship. However, Jordan understood that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird deserved it more than him. So, he declined Daly’s offer and let Johnson and Bird take the reigns.
