The Dream Team


USA’s Men Basketball team for the 1992 Olympics was called the greatest team ever of any sport to have played together. It was also called the Dream team by the Sports Illustrated magazine. A team that had ballers like Jordon, Johnson, Bird, Barkley, Pippen, and the 7 other elite legends, this team has to be called the Dream team. 



USA's basketball players were always considered as the best in business. The USA basketball team had won nine out of eleven Olympics Gold Medals before the Barcelona Olympics. Then, why were the 1992 Olympic Games so special for the game and fans of Basketball? 

The answer is. It was the first time that the active players from the National Basketball Association popularly known as NBA were allowed to represent their country at the Olympic Games. In 1989, three years before the games, FIBA the international acting body of Basketball asks the member boards to change the rules to allow the NBA players to feature in the Olympics. The results of the voting were 56-13 in favor of NBA players.

Active NBA players were allowed to represent their countries from the 1992 Olympics and the rule was again revered after the 2008 Olympics. The reason for not letting the NBA professionals play at the Olympic Games is, it would be unfair on the other athletes from the Communists countries where they had to do mandate military duties, when not playing. On the other hand, the NBA professionals make millions of dollars of their NBA contracts. This was a critical view but there is no lie that NBA players would bring a lot more viewers.

The Barcelona Olympics were the games to remember for the team USA where they won nine out of nine games in the event. They beat all their opponents by a lot of margin at an average of 44 points. The most prolific player for the team USA was Michael Jordan and the team was co-captained Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The highest scorer for the team was Charles Barkley and most assisted by Scottie Pippen. The Dream Team also created a record for the USA in the Olympics was scoring 369 baskets at 57.8 percent successful attempts. 



The format of the 1992 Olympics was simple. 12 teams competed for the Gold medal in Barcelona and they were divided into two groups, i.e. Group A and Group B. The Dream team was in Group A and played five matches before the knockouts. Dream team trashed team Croatia to get their Olympic Gold by 117-85 but this was not their first encounter against the Croats.

In the earlier encounter, team USA pounded their opponent heavily by a margin of 33 points. The main man for the Croats was their small forward, Toni Kukoc. Kukoc was drafted into the NBA in the year 1990 and he was picked by the Chicago Bulls. The players were already irked by the franchise and Kukoc's draft pissed them off. Therefore, in the league match against Croatia, Jordan and Pippen were on Kukoc. The European superstar could not perform and was able to score merely 4 points in the game. This incident was showcased properly in ESPN’s Documentary “The Last Dance”. Later, Toni Kukoc won three NBA titles with the Bulls. 



The Dream team had its controversial moments too. The one that no Basketball fan can forget is not selecting the legend himself, Isiah Thomas. The most famous Piston’s Walk-off from the court against Bulls 1990-91 playoffs was the start of Jordon–Thomas rivalry and many say that was the reason why Thomas was left out of the Dream Team. In the book Dream Team, author Jack McCallum says "Jordon said the selectors that he won’t play if Thomas was selected" but in documentary series The Last Dance, it was told by Jordon that not selecting Thomas was purely selectors’ decision. 



One another proof why the Dream Team was an extraordinary team was the team’s induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010. The Naismith’s is the American Basketball history museum and the most known for its hall of mall inductions. Eleven players and three coaches from the team of 1992 Olympics were inducted in the Hall of Fame.

Many debate about the 1992 team of USA’s Men Basketball being the greatest or not. LeBron James and late Kobe Bryant were also two of the debaters, who were against in the debate and said that their team of 2012 was better. 



Undoubtedly, the 1992 team was the most dominant squad.
So, what are your thoughts on it?


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