“Three to five thousand people were standing outside every day just to watch us get on the bus. I mean like they could only see us like 20 feet to walk to the bus,” Charles Barkley recalled. Not every sports squad could generate a hype like that, since not every one of them was like the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team. ‘The Dream Team’, as it is more famously known, lived up to its moniker by getting basketball legends like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, etc., all under one roof. Three decades later, we still get to learn new details of what went on behind the scenes when this squad wasn’t dominating in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Charles Barkley was recently interviewed by the crew of ‘Pardon My Take’. Having a star member of the ‘Dream Team’ right in front of them would have made it hard for the hosts not to ponder the subject. Sure enough, Michael Jordan’s former teammate was soon asked about his experience. Barkley recalled the players getting along very well with each other. While things got crazy during the practice sessions, as we have learned over the years, everyone was ‘cool’ when they were just relaxing. For Barkley, relaxing meant playing cards for 4-5 hours with Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen. Of course, it was impossible that any form of competitive game would be played with ‘His Airness,’ and his competitive side did not come out.
When asked who was the best at cards, Barkley replied, “Whoever got the best hands. Michael is a…. Michael tries to buy the pot. He didn’t realize we all rich. Like, ‘Okay, we all got money, dude.’ Yeah. He always tries to buy the pot. Like, ‘I’mma raise you.’ Like, ‘We got money, too, fool.’” If that isn’t a classic Michael Jordan story, then we don’t know what else is.
While those four stars were busy with cards, others were out there trying to establish some new bonds. As Barkley recalled, “Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing became like great friends. We made up shirts, ‘Harry and Larry’. I mean, they became great friends. Man, it was so cool.” Patrick Ewing himself acknowledged this during an interview back in 1994. In his own words, “Larry and I, we got very close during the Olympics. At first, during New York against Boston, I used to hate him, ’cause he talked so much trash. But once we finally got to sit down in a relaxed atmosphere, we got to be very good friends”.
Yes, well, Patrick Ewing was in a ‘relaxed atmosphere’. The same can’t be said for those who end up playing any sort of game with Michael Jordan.
USA defeated Croatia 117-85 in the gold medal game of the Barcelona Summer Olympics August 8, 1992. This was the original Dream Team, and was the first American Olympic team to feature active professional players from the NBA. The starting five consisted of Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Scottie Pippen. The team has been described as one of the greatest sports team ever assembled.
Longtime fans of the Chicago Bulls legend are well aware of his relentless competitive nature. From punching former Bulls teammate Steve Kerr during practice to humiliating Rodney McCray by dominating him in $100 post-practice shooting games, Jordan was ruthless with a basketball even during practice. His nature wasn’t just limited to basketball, as Charles Barkley himself once recalled how Jordan used to bet “hundreds of thousands” of dollars on golf rounds. This is the same guy who, as seen in ‘The Last Dance’, couldn’t handle losing $20 to a United Center security guard when they were playing with quarters.
That competitive nature would have been hard to deal with off the court if you were Jordan’s teammate. However, it would have been a blessing on game day. After all, Team USA might not have come back with a gold medal without ‘Air Jordan’ averaging 14.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists throughout 8 games. The ‘Dream Team’ would have certainly realized it once MJ proved his worth after Magic Johnson ignited the star’s competitive nature.
Magic Johnson recalled how talking trash to Michael Jordan became a nightmare during practice
The stories of the 1992 Dream Team’s practice sessions were the stuff of legends! As Charles Barkley recalled, “It was a battle of egos”. When the best-of-the-best the 90s NBA had to offer were put in the same room, things were bound to get intense. Even Magic Johnson went out of his way to trash-talk Michael Jordan for the first time. Given the way that it turned out, Johnson also ensured it would be the last time he trash-talked to ‘His Airness’.
Back in 2016, Magic Johnson appeared for an interview on ‘The Jimmy Kimmel Show’. During the same time, he went into detail about his time at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, including the practice sessions in which Team USA coach Chuck Daly split the team into East vs. West. Barkley, Jordan, Larry Bird, Pippen, and Patrick Ewing were all on one side, while Magic Johnson, David Robinson, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Clyde Drexler, and John Stockton were on the other side. During the fourth day of practice, Johnson’s team led 12-2. The Lakers legend got confident enough to go to Jordan, tap him on the shoulder, and say, “Hey, man. If you don’t turn into Air Jordan, we’re going to blow you out today.” Boy oh boy, that was a mistake!
“Jimmy, his eyes got big. Usually that tongue come about right here, now it’s way out,” said Johnson while imitating MJ. “He broke the huddle, he hit a three, and he’s looking at me. So he came down again, hit another three.” Michael Jordan also pulled, as Johnson recalled, one of the greatest shots he saw as Jordan’s “360 tongue moving and dunked” the ball in a practice game!
“The moral is you should not talk trash to Michael Jordan,” said Kimmel. Truer words could not have been said.
Whether it was cards or on-court practice, the Chicago Bulls legend kept leaving an impression through his competitive nature. An impression that is remembered for years to come. Charles Barkley still remembers it 33 years later.
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