NBA "The Dream Team 1992" Full Documentary

why do people talk about dream so much in sports dream seasons dream match ups dream opportunities they do it because so much of sports is about imagining what you want things to be like if only the setting were just right it was one of those times none of us will ever forget the characters just right I don't know anything about Angola but angle is in trouble the timing just right 11 Hall of Famers I don't think you can ever do that again at no point in time if only it could all be the way you might have dreamed it up yourself people perceived us as being superheroes we became a team and that team does stomped on everybody [Applause] this never happened in sports nowhere well I figured eventually there'd be a movie made about the dream team the greatest team [Music] [Applause] [Music] god bless you and God bless [Applause] twenty years can go by pretty fast and the world isn't gonna stop and wait for you to remember what it used to look like 1992 was a time of change new faces in America quickly transforming into cultural icons none more so than the superstars of the NBA after the legends of the 80s lifted the league's profile to new heights fresh crop of players have blown the lid off their talents and their charisma made them more than just basketball players [Applause] they were a new kind of star athlete whose popularity transcended the game is it the shoes no and now the very best of them awaited their brightest showcase the world's largest athletic stage the Olympic Games in Barcelona Spain even if no one truly realized the impact they would make there it's a watershed moment in the history of sports not just not just the Olympics not just basketball it moved the culture along but in 1992 not everyone was ready for them not everyone thought pro basketball stars at a place in the Olympics this kind of thing had never ever ever been done so it was a lot of you know poking the bear if you will by people in my profession sports journalists and journalists in general were skeptical angry you know because this wasn't the Olympic movement the Olympic ideal had always been about amateur competition which meant the United States had always sent basketball teams made up of college kids teams that dominated for decades in 1972 the Soviet Union was awarded a victory over the US a controversial gold medal game to this day that American team still hasn't claimed their silver medals but that result seemed like a fluke when the Americans got the gold and their next two Olympic appearances while the US celebrated though the rest of the world was catching up so in 1988 when the Soviets won again there was no talk of any fluke I was embarrassed I know some of the guys left their medals there in the room they didn't want to take them home here we are USA on our chest and we didn't get the job done but the amateur ideal had gotten muddled while NBA players were prohibited from Olympic competition professionals from other leagues abroad could play if you played in Europe for money you were an amateur but if you played in the NBA for money you were a professional and so our players weren't eligible those other countries were using pros playing against 18 19 year old kids that is really unfair changing the hypocrisy though was a central goal of a European named Boris thank ovitch the head of FIBA the world Basketball Federation he was very much intent on lifting basketball up to the highest possible level of international sports and if the whole world knew that the very best players in the world we're not participating in the Olympics that made it a second class event so in 1989 Stan kovitch issued a resolution to allow pros from all leagues to compete in the Olympics but back in America the NBA was lukewarm to the idea we wanted to be good partners with FIBA to grow the sport of basketball but we weren't particularly anxious we didn't know what it would mean we didn't know if our players would wanted to do it we didn't know what the logistics were but the vote passed and NBA players were eligible for the Olympics now the issue wasn't about whether American pros could play but whether the best players wanted to play the one guy that you know that we were a little concerned about was probably Michael the thought back then was Michael Jordan plays 36 holes of golf 90 days during the summer what the hell is he gonna be doing playing basketball I was hoping they would not ask me to participate and I was trying to figure out a way graciously that I could decline I've done the Olympic thing before and when rothorn called me and asked me I wasn't gonna know about it my appeal to him was you're the top player in the world this is bigger than the NBA Finals and you know we need you his thing well who else is play I mean all the good players going to play you know I'm not gonna play by myself so Michael Jordan waited to hear more and Rod Thorn made his next call it was a no-brainer for me I was in from day one and I figured if I had jumped in first and said I wanted to play that would get guys to want to participate as well I think if magic wasn't on that team I don't think it would have been as spectacular as it was and the finish out our careers I was important for both of us once you get guys like magic and Larry committing to the team then all of a sudden it becomes something very very special representing the USA is already a tremendous honor but to know that you're gonna be on a dream team is a once-in-a-lifetime experience Magic Bird and David Robinson weren't alone in their bride they called in the big guns we're the Navy SEALs that we had to go over there and kick butt and take names with those stars and the Utah Jazz tandem of John Stockton and Karl Malone the dream team was starting to take shape it don't matter if you call me lazy I got the call I didn't feel like that I deserve to be called but actually wasn't going to tell them that I was like yeah man I don't even think to say who else on the team that was I'm like yeah I'm good yes Charles Barkley's ability was never in question but his attitude was I learned early in Philadelphia it doesn't matter what I see so from this day forward I'm gonna see what the hell I want to see and some people gonna like it and some people gonna dislike it but after a series of incidents on and off the court the least of the committee's concerns were about what Berkeley would say I was asked to talk to him he was so honored that we would even think about asking him he convinced me that you won't have any problems with me now with the team nearly complete Rod Thorn had enough talent secured to go back to where he started representing my country was a big thing but I think you know the biggest motivation for me was now I get to spend time with some of the guys I compete against all the time Portland's Clyde Drexler rounded out the list of NBA players while the final spot on the roster was reserved for an amateur Duke's Christian Laettner coming off back-to-back NC double-a titles there's the pass to late in any other Olympic year Laettner might have been the team's biggest star but on this team he was fine with being the last guy on the bench I tell people this all the time and it may shock them but my most enjoyable year was my freshman year because they don't expect nothing from you except carry the luggage do the laundry and get our doughnuts and that's easy the harder thing is to be the leader by May of 1991 two months before the Olympics the team was set one college kid and 11 future hall-of-famers the man charged with putting it all together was the unflappable Chuck Daly okay whole set Chuck looked apart he was the guy that looked like he owned the arena but he would also push the broom his hair was beautiful his suits were immaculate he wanted to win but he wanted to look good as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons Daley did both winning back-to-back championships in 1989 and 90 the Pistons were nicknamed the bad boys they're aggressive and some said dirty style of play never more evident than in their memorable playoff battles with Michael Jordan's bowls Chicago had no love for each other so when Daley was named the dream team coach many wondered how he'd handle working with the Bulls biggest star I was being asked to wrestle with some demons and some some issues but the coach was well acquainted with the task of managing personalities he closed to bad boys and if you didn't coach those didn't coach anybody one player daily wouldn't be coaching in the Olympics however was his own star in Detroit point guard Isaiah Thomas who controversially had been left off the team's roster no matter how much people try to say now you know it was no big deal it was a big deal I talked to Isiah at the beginning of the year about the aspect he wasn't on the team and he was not comfortable with it I'm sure he is very hurt he's a very deserving player but you know he was not selected Thomas was well on his way to a Hall of Fame career but was also seen by many as the biggest cultivator of the bad boys image in Detroit Isiah was the general he was the guy that would be up at his teammates and say knock him on the ass do whatever you got to do I despise the way that he played the game no I did not walk well I can't speak for Michael but uh I don't think he was going to Dave now there has been speculation that your icy relationship with Isiah Thomas is the reason that he was not selected well what is your reaction to that that was one of the stipulations put to me prior to me even committing that there wasn't a part of the team I was getting strong innuendos that it wasn't just you know it was coming from higher places that didn't want I was a Thomas on the table certainly things are being pointed at me because of our relationship and of course about the way that the end of the game between the toy and Chicago ended we were picking the group just after the Pistons had been eliminated by the Bulls and it was a very bad timing for Isiah everybody had fresh in their mind the picture of Isiah walking off the court [Applause] when the Pistons walked off the court before the final bell I think it left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths but no as Jordan and the team were done answering questions about Isaiah with training camp approaching a bigger question would need to be answered how would the 12 stars that were selected played together training camp began on June 22nd 1992 in La Jolla California and when the gym doors opened no one was quite sure what to expect especially the players themselves there's a lot of eagles in one gym and on one team everybody wanted their form to shine and showcase why they were a part of this team with all these stars on the team if it comes down to the last shot everybody know where I has a Nico don't it between us we have a reason to have an ego every one of us felt like we was a everybody and when practice started that first day every player seemed to be trying to prove just how great they were it was a very competitive practice and I'm thinking I'm we all on the same team Patrick go I don't play this Dave I don't play against you here Michael so I don't wanna be on MAGIX team I wanna play against him every evaluation of Michael Jordan at that time was he's good but he's never Magic Johnson in my competitive nature I want to use every little bit that I could gather so that I can gain in an event Department long he's the only guy would even compare to myself at the power forward position so I want to prove that I was the best power forward in the world Charles yeah he's a great talent do I think he's better me hell no so let's do this out of time this over with you will be thinking I'm damn good to the first practice Berkeley drives baseline and Karl Malone jumps up like this part we just dunked on him so hard it was just an unbelievable play I felt like man I cannot believe that I'm part of this practice a few days later the team had a chance to acclimate themselves to playing on the same side Chuck Daly had scheduled the scrimmage against a select group of college players a group thrilled to be facing off against their idols I found out today I might be taking up magic a little bit full-court so you know things are just happening for me it really really makes me happy my whole thought process was don't embarrass yourself and that that was like the theme for me like just hang in there a lot of those people have looked up to Berkeley Malone la those people talked confidence you know I think it's gonna be a good match you know until you decide for the college players it was a chance to see how they'd match up against the world's best for Coach Daly it was an opportunity to get his stars to grow into a single unit I think we're somewhere between the mentality of an all-star game and trying to come together as a team so we've got to continually work on this Gally had been hired for his ability to manage personalities and egos and when the scrimmage began that became apparent that his players had left one of their biggest weapons mozi goes somewhere else the non-fan would think well they're gonna go in there and I each gonna want their own ball and Jordans gonna be hogging the ball and you know magics gonna be dribbling all over the place point of fact it was the exact opposite they overcast it was like I don't want to start it off you know you do it before you realize that a select team was beating us by 10:00 we didn't know how to play with each other we didn't want to step on anybody's toes or hurting the Eagles and so these young Keys they were killing us we were not into it and we paid for it Chris Webber was a man I thought boy that's the guys come this league I could get out of here Bobby Hurley was dominant I did have some success penetrating and collapsing the defense and our energy our excitement to play all those things played in our favor Bobby early didn't play two seasons in the NBA nevertheless it did expose the one weakness they could have had which is defending against quick guards they were playing great then I noticed that Michael Jordan is not playing I'm saying something Chuck then he said we're all right you know we're all right daily watched as his players failed to make up the deficit and in their first taste of outside competition the dream team lost the story their coach didn't want the press to get their hands on remember Chuck saying as soon as the game ended we were getting ready to let media and it was a racist scoreboard media comes in scores if not hundreds they can sense something you can feel it attention or you feel something in the air the teams pose for a picture together both not sure what to make of what had just happened but the man in charge may have had the answer he threw the game you know Chuck threw the game if you look how much Jordan played and how he sub guys in not picking up not making any adjustments he knew what he was doing 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 believe in Santa Claus and in the the Easter Bunny and now that they've grown up I hate to burst their bubble but it was a game throne not many people would have done it and he did it it was gratifying to Chuck for us to get our butts beat like that because now we had to listen to him from then on he had a way of just saying you could lose I have to fix him his callers in his hair his speech was anybody can get beat so you gotta be ready to play and I think that's the only speech he ever gave us the message got across I mean sure you know Chuck couldn't have been happier I'm sure it was brilliant on Chuck's part to be able to orchestrate that and play along like he didn't why did he tell you guys we probably would have screwed it up the next day training camp ended with a rematch against the college kids and once play started everything made sense again the tables would turn drastically [Music] we showed him why why we are who we are we pretty much beat him by a hundred they couldn't score and by the way Jordan played a lot more of that next scrimmage before the dream team could play in the 1992 Olympics they had to qualify the place to do that was Portland Oregon and the tournament of the Americas it would be the public's first chance to see the NBA stars together in a game especially Jordan Bird and Magic Dale he had asked all three to be team captains but Jordan had turned him down I knew how much it meant to both of those guys because they never had the opportunity to play on the Olympics so I'd say you know what Chuck don't worry about me you know let these old dogs do it magic and bird weren't just the team's oldest players 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 one another had grown Maddie was just a great basketball player he's the best I've ever seen you know [Music] unbelievable in 1992 they'd be getting the chance to share the ball but the opportunity would be coming at the end of their careers Hurd had given his soul to the game but after so many years his body was betraying him and back problems it just gets the point where you just couldn't play I mean you couldn't couldn't think couldn't move I couldn't run you know if you can't feel your feet it's hard to run Larry was on the fence because of this bag so I said man lb you gotta play man you gotta play this is our last chance to be together magic would be able to convince his old friend to play but at the start of the 1991-92 NBA season he was forced to retire after learning he had the HIV virus doctors would eventually clear him to play in the Olympics though that didn't stop fears from swirling there's a lot of players that really didn't want him to play they want to play with him or against him because nobody knew what disease man you know they say get a little blood on you you got HIV Brees on yet you know I never body knew that you know I just just keep going and that's what her van decided to do just keep pushing keep going [Applause] magic had made a cameo in the 1992 all-star game and had focused his attention on the Olympics hoping for an encore of a lifetime alongside his old rival our careers were really over and it was something I thought needed to happen for both of us their debut would take place at Portland's Rose Garden with their team needing to medal in the tournament of the Americas to qualify for the Olympics that seemed like a foregone conclusion to just about everyone including their first opponents who were completely in awe before the game even started the Cuban team spontaneously like drops to its knees as if 12 popes had come by on Easter Sunday at that point the idea that this is merely a basketball game has been ripped asunder it was a surreal feeling did I do we here to kick y'all behind and they want to take pictures with you then the game begins magic and Larry come out together two guys that had saved the lake they wouldn't be playing this game without those two and magic pass the ball Larry makes the first basket I mean yeah it's just it just didn't get any better than that the u.s. was off and running and the result was a thing of beauty [Applause] and no one seemed more excited to be sharing the court than the co-captains [Music] opening night was a smashing success but the outcome never in doubt late in the game fans in Portland decided they wanted a curtain call from a three-time MVP the crowds start cheering very very bad to the actress [Applause] and as he done so many other times in his career Larry Bird rose to the occasion [Applause] it was a virtually flawless performance the final margin of victory was 77 points and magic inverted led the way from magic in particular after year out of the game the victor had a special kind of meaning would HIV never even thinking that I would ever have a chance to play basketball game and then basketball for the United States there was therapy for me and I needed that in the worst way and then there was the matter of making sure Michael Jordan knew he was back as well with magic and Michael there was that little extra something there something kind of to prove to each other I took it upon myself to always shoot with Michael okay MJ free throws today he was the first one to fifty or we had little games who who was the better shooter [Music] [Music] he didn't want to relinquish that control of the 80s in a sense even though we were going into the night [Music] you know he just come off missing a whole year so it was who can win who's gonna have the bragging rights by the end of this trip you can't get too close to my voice five Michael's always try to let people know that he's a top dog and in whatever that's just his competitive mode I'm the young guy with the oldest statesman he's a young puppy I'm the big dog here whatever I say goes while the winner of magic and Michaels can you top this challenge remained in doubt when it came to facing the competition in the tournament of the Americas the team stood united we took the court in Portland which you know we own home ground we wanted to showcase to the fans who will be representing them [Applause] put a message around the world to be as y'all can give it up you foreigners can give it up [Music] [Applause] perfectly the Americans won their six games at the tournament by an average of 50 points all right Larry your impressions of the nice game the gold medal was no surprise but what was unexpected was the team's interactions with their opponents who showered them with adulation before after and even during games [Applause] the tournament of the Americas had served its purpose the US had qualified for the Barcelona games and given the world its first glimpse of what was coming later that summer win the gold medal and bring it back to be on July 18th 1992 with the Barcelona Olympics a week away the US men's basketball team headed overseas they would hold several days of practice in Monte Carlo and play one more tune-up before heading to the Olympics the luxurious setting on the Mediterranean Sea was fitting to it already may have been the world's most famous team Monte Carlo is one of those glamorous cities and here we were with the most glamorous team ever so it's kind of a rock star ish kind of a thing the players were relaxed and confident and willing to admit there was more to the trip than just basketball this is like spring break at Megiddo the opulent resort town was a playground waiting to be explored and the players weren't shy about enjoying themselves Oh y'all feelin me now look the seen him on a call it was great it was just breathtaking I was down on the beach just kind of trying to enjoy some of the scenery take every team in aviation train I need to get a team here everything we got back to practice which made a beeline to the swimming pool with all those girls will land out topless I'ma be in that pool so much the next two days I think I'm on the swim team in Barcelona we're all out there with our significant others all these women walking around topless coming so I started the bike boom Pop's being taller see usually you tell everybody no but because this lady coming over top that you gonna sign her autograph my wife looking at me like the best part about it was Patrick Ewing buying the beer at the pool you know $7 beer I never heard of that of course patty didn't drink you know how much beer was one thing you don't want to do is drink beer with Larry Bird and Larry Bird drink Budweiser which but wild is the strongest beer in the world and my head hurt for like two days they were used to being opponents but Monte Carlo was proving to be the perfect place to find common ground Michael Jordan enjoys his golf as did Chuck Daly I get the couch I got caught blue icon a Chuck played almost every single day if not every day come up here that may be green Chuck Chuck would plan his practice schedule around our golf town that to me was ideal play a little bit basketball play a little golf and yeah Monte Carlo sounds like a basketball the relationship that a head coach has with his main guy is incredibly important Chuck's ability to get Michael this amazing because think of how bitter enemies they had to be Chuck devised the defense that drove Jordan out of his mind and yet here they are playing golf together Jordan could really have unbelievably bad feelings towards Chuck Chuck understood down and embraced them that was a bonding thing for me and Chuck always been a thing that I treasure just as much as being a part of the team for Jordan golf was only one part of the whirlwind scheduled which his teammates were discovering was just the way he liked it 36 holes I'm playing in tomorrow too he would do more things and be ready to practice and play as much as anybody [Applause] the thing that I remember the most was going out and playing golf with Michael Jordan before a game and I thought and I'm gonna be exhausted tonight and Michael just had ridiculous energy and was phenomenal I felt like I was running in quicksand a little bit and so you know gave me a whole nother level of respect for ten of the freak of nature that he really is we played cards in magic room to five o'clock in the morning pretty much every night it was so much fun it's like a bionic guy or you'd play cards play golf play basketball I don't know when he ever slept finally after a ball game he was just lying down and I looked our size I think that's the first time he's gone to sleep on the whole trip [Music] after a few days in Monte Carlo the players returned to the court for an exhibition against the French national team everybody had their eyes on one team we could feel that it was just such talent in such incredible skill and it was just such a pleasure to watch the Americans won the game easily even if their performance was far short of seamless it was a terrible game and us look half interested and so Chuck kind of the next morning in Monte Carlo even though everybody's a little hungover and tired had to really kick their butt Chuck says okay this is what's gonna happen we're gonna play it like a real game don't play four quarters we had me Scottie Mullins bird and Patrick and magic had his fight we weren't gonna change that team at no point in time you got your father I got my fight we gave them the college guy you can have christian Laettner we don't want him you can have him he's just over there waiting to tag in but it was it was about pride and the college kid couldn't help either one of the team Michael Jordan called quiet out and when Adam tell him this is what I'm gonna do to you fall away jumper good what did I tell you so I said no glide you better get him back you better get him back Charles Barkley said I wanna take Carl Malone now so Charles gets it far away jumper good I said Carl you gotta get him back you better go down and get him back I went red Adam jumps I do ain't nothing you ain't nothing Barkley so then I came down [Applause] his energy is real high he feels like he's in an opportunity to prove himself showcase that hey look I'm still Magic Johnson I still dominate this game magic was same you ain't the guy and we got other players in his in his gym doesn't take much to get Michael gone just a little something to tweak him and it's on never liked the move Mike always got that look when you see that look then you know just beginning the damn ball and get off the way as much as it was five on five we could see in Monte Carlo that it was gravitating towards okay Michael imagine magic was hesitant to surrender his place on the mountaintop and Michael being Michael he needed to say no I'm on the top of the mountain now Maggie's saying look MBA is not yours yet I'm still here mike is like now it's old this is this is mine and the funny thing was Larry was who's sitting on his side you got it it's his Chuck realized the competition aspect was giving a little bit too high he wanted to impractical want to end does he want to keep playing because we just kicked his ass even magic had to acknowledge basketballs landscape had been changed forever Larry and I were talking and Michael walks in and he says there's a new sheriff in town and we both hit each other like well he's not lucky Bonni Carla was kind of a turning point wall started to come down from you know when you're playing against each other you have these rivalries these were my teammates now they're guys that know that I'm looking towards for support it seemed like we became more friends than anything else the players were off to Barcelona headed to the Olympics unmistakeably as a team [Music] the united states men's basketball team landed in barcelona for the olympics on july 24 1992 in store was an experience unlike anything they or the sports world had ever seen the plane landing in barcelona helicopters flying over it wow what is all the commotion what happened and then we figured out they were there for us that was the first time did we realize how popular and how enormous this thing was I was like guys if we lose it's gonna be like the biggest upset in sports history Berkeley was right there was no margin for error a reality the rest of the team openly accepted in their first press conference in Spain I know I'm really afraid to fail because I can't go back home if we don't want to go even though from a little small place and summer feel those 250 people there I said I can't come back sparkly mean well-handled an endless barrage of questions as only he could how did you feel in 1972 when the Soviet Union beat the United States and that wild game well I had just flunked my entrance exam at the kindergarten I really that's all that they know you know everybody that ever been in front of a camera we tend to not say certain things why don't they just take their ass flipping like people and go home Berkeley says things that we would think about never say we're gonna have a little revenge in our hearts for 72 and 88 David he can't say that because he's a Christian but he's a man you don't talk honestly enough to the media you need to tell them what you're really thinking I said Charles you talk too much the media you need to stop telling them everything you're thinking when Charles was asked about the team's first opponent his prediction was as honest as ever I don't know anything about Angola but Angola's in trouble just moments ago the dream team boarded the bus outside their hotel along the ramblas they are heading for their first matchup in Barcelona with the Angolans I can remember the first game the real game came out a locker room and stepped on the court and I finally said to myself well I can't believe this I'm here at that point we were in serious Olympic mode this actually may be the biggest mismatch of the entire [Applause] it was just a tremendous atmosphere because there was an appreciation for how great the u.s. players were after the first half Barclays pregame prediction appeared dead on but in the second Charles found some trouble other players in Angola the play against South likely they'd tall has there's no key the fat boy is a if many accuracy from the pain [Applause] aggressive I thought they were playing dirty and I told old boy I don't I don't even know if he understood my hey man ease up on the elbow let it go twice you can see the frustration with the Barclays and the next time I just cracked it [Applause] to his dying day charles claims the guy elbowed him three times I said Charles you know you're full of crap no he's not true I didn't have all back to before the incident people always say turn the other cheek if you turned out she can get you another cheek too I thought what are you doing John the guy is half your size but you know Charles is an equal opportunity abuser aerilon Derek cut it bruh did not think it was a friendly elbow that's the same guy just asked for an autograph Charles I mean you think he's not intimidated I think is that like a bullying by maybe this from his personality [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the game may have ended in a rout but afterwards the result was overshadowed by the controversy elbow Charles made you look like The Ugly Americans which we were trying not to do [Music] we said the child look man you're a reflection of all of us so if you do it they're not gonna write the article that child Berkeley they gonna say the dream team Berkeley had stained a dream debut for the Americans but in their next game against Croatia Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan grabbed a spotlight with the focus on their matchup with one of Europe's best players Toni Kukoc major storyline that carries into this game involves Toni Kukoc second round pick of the Chicago Bulls back in 1989 the Bulls I made a strong push to sytem last season at that time general managers in the league were trying to come up with gems you know make their discoveries overseas and Krause thought this guy could play in the NBA well Jordan and Pippen had been winning back-to-back titles Chicago GM Jerry Krause had been publicly wooing Kukoc to join the Bulls Krause was recruiting this guy and the talking how great he was you know that's like a father who has all his kids and now he sees another kid that he loves more than he loves his own so we were not playing against Toni Kukoc we were playing against Jerry Krause in a Croatian uniform but unfortunately for the real Toni Kukoc he was now the target of the world's two best offensive players they was debating who was gonna guard him no no no I got it no no I got I'm looking at Michael and Scottie and they're ready for like blood like man we knew the world was gonna be watching we knew everyone wanted to see what Toni Kukoc was like and we were gonna give him the worst experience he ever had on the basketball court Pippen drew the initial assignment of shadowing Kukoc and harassed the Croatian from the opening whistle it was hard to run across the half-court of inaudible and with the vault and hear somebody else get it Tony definitely wasn't getting a shot up and he wasn't gonna score nothing for four and he's contributed nothing we wanted to go guard him on the bench [Applause] and after Pippen wore Kukoc down it was Jordans turn Kukoc he reads it them dudes were all over him here's a 302 I had question for my teammates to join the game but like what is going on what do you not see that they're really trying to get you off the court and I'm like so what I guess that's this how am be a game is played Pippen Jordan and the Americans cruise to another victory this one by 38 points but the domination had its detractors this team of all-stars is almost too good is it a positive or a negative the question was now being asked was the dream team too great for its own good this team of all-stars is almost too good if some think that we should go back to the collegians it's been too easy I think then we ought to ban the African runners from the 10000 meters because they make it look so easy as well this is about our best and this is wonderful for the sport of basketball Earvin there's been some comments that the dream team is getting all the attention and there seems to be some resentment about it if you heard about it and you have any feelings about it basically you know we haven't heard about 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 dream team is universal you got a rue gonna stand out who'd against Picasso I mean no seriously they rooted for genius at work I kept thinking that the attention would dissipate they're gonna play the first game they're gonna win by 60 people are gonna go back and watch track 60 point lead it didn't it kept building and building and building another trouncing 127 workers were trying to get autographs that security people are trying to get autographs all the athletes were scanning alongside like a parade [Applause] [Music] [Applause] people perceived us as being a superhero [Music] [Applause] the guy on the bench is taking pictures and I said wow we are having an effect over here [Applause] It was as if the president the United States was in the midst of a caravan that was going through the streets reflect the Beatles where there's thousands and thousands of people waiting all the time we're like wow this is amazing no one member of the dream team reveled in the Olympic experience more than Charles Barkley after throwing the controversial elbow against Angola Barkley had emerged as the team's most visible player everybody always had the same question how much of a an ass is Charles Barkley hey Jack what am I going to be undercover Sports Illustrated for this stuff I should be on the cover and then every time you'd go spend time with him you know you just realized that he was the most enjoyable act not only in all of sports but possibly in all of pop culture right away I told my editors I said well the number-one angle here is what is Charles doing and if you wanted the answer to that question well you had to do was follow the crowds like we don't want you guys out and about because we don't know how safe it is and I'm like dude I met the Olympics I'm not gonna stay in my room the whole time so Barkley strolled Las Ramblas man-of-the-people if ever there was one and I walked up and down the Ramblas every night and the people were fantastic rats and want to take pictures we could be inside the hotel soon we heard the big roar we said there go jobs so child would be walking and then thousands would be following him everywhere he went you know he was the Pied Piper Charles would go over to the village and like find the Angolan players and hang out along the ramblas at night he was the most memorable person of the 1992 Olympics I just saw this touch he had I don't think anybody else in the world could have done it besides Charles Barkley the end of the day he was America's best ambassador Barclays was celebrated for experiencing the Olympics on his own terms more quietly one of his teammates found a way to do the same we had the motorcycle escorts and we bus tour traffic like Dick Tracy but this one day we got stuck in traffic we're just sitting there sitting there and said their advice that's it let's go anybody wants to go with me I'm headin he'd get off the bus and his family met him he started walking right through the middle of everybody and nobody knows him I'm still on the bus sitting and walk down the street I'm sitting myself I would give anything to do what he just did see you guys this is called the rhombus see all the footprints so lost rhombus it's like Times Square or something there's just so many people walking six feet one I'm about the average size everybody else on that little walk so we're walking with my family and have the Cameron nobody's noticing I mean it's the sunglasses that's full of them must be high from America we're about we're about Massachusetts you've been watching the dream team at all they're pretty good aren't they yeah no attention whatsoever finally we ran across this lady who had the dream team and all the pictures on her t-shirt she started speaking real excitedly about each of the players I said have you had a chance to meet anyone good Jeff he's a hell of a player so you got all the players right there on your shirt there's Charles the only one you've ever seen hey guys do you know any of those guys on there I think my oldest son Houston ruined the surprise that's your dad too bad he's not here I do yeah I can't go anywhere without being bugged really not much different from Michael Jordan walking through here for the players surreal experiences have become the norm but even more memorable were the unlikely friendships developing behind the curtain it was a unique mix you know Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing became like best friends I got a white guy from Indiana and I got a brother from Jamaica Patrick said I could pick his mind we would probably two of the most unlikely people you thought that would be friends but if you look not only Larry and I got to be great friends but all of those guys got to be much better friends we all enjoyed each other we all enjoyed the ride and we got a sense of each other as men then when we got to the court it made it even better the dream team's chemistry turned out to be the hallmark of their success as the players closed in on what they came for [Applause] they're big margins of victory may have been a testament to their dominance but numbers couldn't capture what made watching them so unforgettable guys played the best basketball you've ever seen in your life they was literally like great poetry and great honor at times you feel you're watching a performance basketball competition this was fun this was like some basketball supposed to be and at the center of the fun was the team's biggest star who had come to Barcelona at the peak of his powers and shown how much his popularity had exploded I will say there's one thing about Michael Jordan I've been around other celebrities in my life I've never seen people react like they do to him people will crazy when they see him [Applause] in every corner of the world there was someone who just wanted to see him no one had to sort of pull the gravity the Michael Jordan had Jordan had initially come to Barcelona reluctantly but an early-morning trip just before the gold medal game revealed how meaningful his Olympic experience had become what time in the morning is it right now six thirty six quarters quarters seven something like that can we go down then George Hirsch George how you doing last night I hid in the wall didn't make a bet are you doing up so early I do remember getting up early to walk into the stadium that is the thing that I remember the most about the Olympics [Music] Olympic Stadium [Music] imagine all the athletes it's been here before us [Music] it's amazing when I able Moses 122 consecutive races I think everybody's got something Church I think this is something that my kids in love one day the dream team squared off against Croatia again in the gold medal game offering the world one more lasting impression of their supremacy [Music] Team USA came to send a message tonight we wanted to win with one to dominate but how we did it sharing the ball including everybody we did it as a true team [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] and they keep all that los Estados Unidos never anything it was never really any doubt the dream team would win gold of 1992 but as they walked back onto the court to get their medals the moment still overwhelm them we saw a lot of tears from players it was a very proud moment for me because anytime you represent your country you know that's a prideful thing [Applause] [Music] send chills down my spine it was a reward that I had never felt like that I would ever go to you to do it on that stage with those group of guys some memory I'll never forget nothing in my life has ever felt like standing on that podium I was getting goosebumps every single time I heard the national anthem after that had a different significant to me I knew what it really meant you know it's a young kid growing up I used to watch the Olympics on TV with my father and all he talked about was the star-spangled banner and the gold medal made him feel proud to be American being up on that podium that night and receiving it my father you've been pretty proud all those emotions just overcame me I got to be one of the guys one more time for my country I said man I never forget this moment you know if this is the him this how I wanted to go out [Applause] but when the medal ceremony was over another realization began to settle in when I walked off I remember thinking that whole dream has come to an end the next season every Olympian 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 on the way to six championships overall the last three with Toni Kukoc eventually other members of the team would also win titles but each NBA player on the dream team would reach the Hall of Fame still it's what they did together that summer that had the biggest impact on the game an impact that continues to grow today it really lifted basketball and it gave birth to international stars who had nothing to do with those games in 92 but who took so much from it we made to game a worldwide game you know I talked to Tony Parker I talked to Ginobili I talked to Dirk Nowitzki those guys said their first love a basketball started with the dream team and I'm really proud of that [Music] the world can change a lot in 20 years but there are moments in time you never forget no matter how long it's been no matter how much else has changed in your life since 20 years later they've all kept ties to the game in one way or another and they all talked about the summer of 92 as if it happened just yesterday an experience still unlike any other and their remarkable basketball lives I've never had more fun being around anybody everybody got along there was no ego we had fun you know clearly everybody reminds me I never wanted championship so that to me was like winning the championship winning a gold medal and hanging out with these guys the reward itself is really only a small part of the story it's what the gold medal represents that will always tie these men together this is like this fraternity that's pretty awesome I don't think you've ever gonna be able to get 11 Hall of Famers and play all that once you know on one team that's that's unheard of we go on the bus we come back walk out the hotel wave wave outside your window [Music] it changed sport as we know it they showed the world how to play basketball one of the team can say that I don't think we'll ever see anything like it again it's an insult to prepare anybody else to that team take a good look prep for never see a team this great again [Music] [Applause] [Music] no team will ever have that happen hasn't had that happen and that's the dream [Music] ninety-two gold medalist Olympics the USA Basketball dream team original NBA

Channel: SHINSTAR LIVE

Views: 3,213,807

Rating: 4.861259 out of 5

Keywords: NBA, MICHAEL JORDAN, DREAM TEAM, 1992 OLYMPIC, charles barkley, ORIGINAL DREAM TEAM, AIR JORDAN, OLYMPIC BASKETBALL, Barcelona, NBA stars

Id: IraymSUdK0M

Length: 68min 36sec (4116 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 27 2019