(Translator's note: The author of this article is Jackie-MacMullan, and the content in this article does not represent the views of the translator and the platform.) ）
The 1992 Barcelona Olympics spread basketball around the world and made the sport's best athletes — and certainly the fiercest contenders — notice the names on the opposing jerseys.
For decades, the NBA has been a league of stars. However, even among these stars, there is a hierarchy. Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Magician, Jordan, Kobe Bryant, they paved the way for today's NBA superstars. In Idol Club: The Evolution of NBA Superstars, Basketball Hall of Fame reporter Jackie MacMullan reveals the secrets of the superstars along the way.
Here's an excerpt from Episode 5 that describes some of the details of the rivalry and friendship in The Dream Team.
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the Dream Team did not live in the Olympic Village, but in the Ambassador Hotel, where they were guarded by heavily armed bodyguards and received strict instructions to go out without permission.
Larry Bird, a superstar fan, found a side door, so he slipped out of the hotel in a hat and took the subway to see the U.S. baseball team.
Charles Barkley was very vocal, strolling down the avenues of central Barcelona, followed by a large group of adoring fans. Ras-Grannick (then NBA vice president) went straight over one night and asked in disbelief, "Charles, where is your bodyguard?" Sir Charles just shrugged slightly and continued his way.
Bill Wharton was not very impressed with his 1970 U.S. experience, and he considered Barkley to be the best basketball ambassador in the history of the U.S. men's basketball team.
"Because what Barkley did, in a sense, was an ambassador for American basketball. And Larry Bird, he's out, but he's not talking to the fans. Jordan didn't go out, Ewing didn't go out, neither of them went out to talk to the fans. But, Charles Buckley said, 'Let's go out,' he was like a piper, he was a pioneer, he was just walking the streets of Barcelona and enjoying his life. And then people say, 'It's fun, let's get involved!' ’”。
Rick Wertz (former chief marketing officer of the NBA) happened to run into Barkley one day, and he was with a group of fans, and the fans couldn't believe their eyes, they were mixed up with Buckley.
They were with Buckley! He's a basketball royal!
"It also gave me a clear picture of the potential impact this team has on the game of basketball, and I don't even know how these fans know them." Rick-Wiltz said.
"It's also the first time I've felt like these two weeks in Barcelona have advanced the NBA's schedule and the development of basketball by 20 years."
The magician also walked gleefully down the street, followed by bodyguards on either side of him. He walked into the midst of avid Spanish fans who were just looking at the Lakers' legend who had just been diagnosed with HIV, which would lead to an early end to his NBA career. The magician smiled and waved to the crowd, reveling in his role as the captain of the Dream Team.
Grannick said: "From a safety point of view, there has never been anything that triggers a player safety alert. He also said that dream team's security team in Barcelona may not be able to move the mountains, but they can move cars if needed. I remember one time, when I came back from a game, I was sitting on the team bus, and at an intersection the bus couldn't turn because there was a car around the corner blocking our way, and the security team went down and lifted the car up and put it on the sidewalk. ”
Before Dream's first game against Angola, Barkley was asked about the matchup. He quipped: "I don't know anything about Angola, but they're in trouble. ”
Sir Charles was right, and in the ensuing match, the Dream Team defeated Angola by 68 points.
The Dream Team beat their opponents, posed for photos, and even the referee on duty asked for their autographs during breaks in the game.
Chuck Daly's goal of not calling a timeout was achieved so easily. It's not a basketball game, it's a basketball coronation.
During their breaks, a private room on the second floor of the Ambassador Hotel became a meeting point for their team members. Jordan, Barkley, Pippen, Ewing, the Magicians, they usually play a card game that is popular among NBA players for hours at a time. Bird often watched them play cards, sipping a drink and occasionally making some comments.
Wives and children come and go. The atmosphere is harmonious and fun. The tension that had previously been in the NBA disappeared here.
"Everybody let go of their grievances on the NBA," Drexler said, "and everybody was friendly and your wife and family were there." We are a team. It was great because at the time, if you weren't on the same team, they wouldn't like you. ”
One night, the conversation was about who the best athletes in the sport were. Jordan was smoking a cigar and waiting for the discussion.
Bird was drinking beer. We were all completely relaxed. Jordan later said to me, "We were talking about how to win back-to-back championships, it was the '90s, you know, the magic did it, he did it, he said, 'Me and Bird, we won 5 championships, we were the NBA's '80s, and so on.' ’”。 Pippen then joined the discussion, saying, "It's the '90s and there's a new guy coming out, and the magician has to say, but Bird looks at him and says to him, 'Magician, our time is over, let's get aside and let them take over.'" It took the magician a long time to put it down, and then we kept arguing, until one or two o'clock in the morning. ”
Chris Mullin had foreseen that late-night debate long before. Magicians often flaunt their glorious championship experiences during team training, while Bird usually does back relaxation on the side, and he will glance at Mullin and roll his eyes.
"Many times, Bird was either riding a bike or doing stretching and he would say, 'Bro, our time is over.'" ”。
"God bless the magician to survive [referring to HIV infection]. One thing to be respected was that the magician wouldn't have given jordan the staff, but at that point in time, it was already clear who was the best player, and there was no way to even get close. ”
Jordan said some of the jokes he had with the magician broke the barriers between them. They are all very motivated, very proud, and very competitive people. When Jordan quickly went viral in his rookie season, the magician was a little annoyed. But over time, they began to respect each other's legacy to the alliance and their impact on the next generation.
In barcelona's closed bubble, they can finally talk like teammates, colleagues and friends.
"That's when the magician and I became intimate." Jordan said: "We spent a lot of time together, talking nonsense, bragging about who is the top player in the league, who is not, who is the big man in the league and so on. I don't know, but we seem to be very compatible. ”
"It was interesting to have a discussion with those guys there, you know? It made the conversations easy, and we talked deeply, mentally, physically, coaching, and basketball tactics. What each of us does is so similar because we're all competing on the top competitive stage, so our conversations are deep. ”
The Dream's offensive performance was incredible, and in the end, they won the gold medal with a 117-85 victory over Croatia. This made Pippen particularly happy.
Bulls general manager Jerry Klaus has been pursuing 23-year-old Tony Kukoc, willing to throw money at him and refuse to give Pippen a raise. Kukoc didn't know anything about it, and the tall, skinny Croatian was shoved roughly by Pippen and Jordan during the match.
While Kukoc played well in the gold medal game, Croatia is not the opponent of the Dream Team, which is made up of the best players in the NBA.
The spectacular scene that preceded the gold medal battle was very different from what the players had seen before. The whole city of Barcelona is crazy for the Dream Team. Mullin was amazed at the thousands of fans who had gathered.
"For the first two races, we had motorcycle escorts; then we had motorcycle and car guards; and then we had motorcycle, car, van escorts." "In the end, we had motorcycles, cars, vans and helicopter guards," Mullin said. In the last game, there were so many fans and so many security guards, they closed the highway and we had green lanes to get to the stadium. We also overtook our opponents on the road, and security guards drove them off the road. ”
The gold medal award may be just a routine, but at that moment, standing on the podium in front of the whole world to receive the gold medal, the dream team sang the national anthem together. After the ceremony, they hugged each other excitedly for a long time. Then they're going to go back to the NBA's real-world game and do whatever it takes to beat their opponents and compete for the league's best player.
Jordan didn't lose his limelight, but when he left Barcelona, he did give his teammates a new respect, especially Drexler, who was bent on embarrassing Drexler at the start of the trip.
"I spent more time playing golf with Drexler, talking about the 1992 Finals, Chicago vs. Portland, who was better, and so on. We played golf together, joked together, texted each other. For me, it was a by-product of the Dream Team experience. ”
"We've been talking"
Drexler eventually won his "championship basketball" status, and after joining the Rockets in 1995, he defeated the young O'Neal and his Orlando Magic to win the NBA championship.
Drexler said he would also meet jordan regularly, and the rivalry between them extended from the basketball court to the golf course.
"If I were in Florida, I would definitely call him. Wherever we are, wherever we are, we keep in touch to see if we can meet and talk together. Drexler said.
The Dream Team did something that many people couldn't imagine. It unites a number of self-centered, fiercely competitive opponents into a real team, and some of them have become great friends.
They are cute and affinity, and they are now more famous than ever.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity brings together these super popular basketball elites, completely changing the status of basketball in the sports world.
It is precisely because of this dream team that basketball has been completely changed.