Michael Jordan is the epitome of winning. The Chicago Bulls legend won six NBA Championships during his phenomenal career. But Jordan placed winning the gold medal in the Olympics at a higher level than winning titles.
Jordan shared his thoughts on the same in a 1992 interview with ‘Playboy.’ Michael Jordan was initially asked about why Magic Johnson wanted to be a part of the 1992 Dream Team so badly.
“He has accomplished everything possible in terms of basketball except for one thing: He’s never played in an Olympic game,” Jordan said in the interview. “Never had that gold medal. And that can be eating at him. He probably would take that risk knowing that he might give up a day or two of his life. You know what? If I were in his position, I probably would do it, too. I’m going to be in his corner all the way.
“It adds something to your life when you win a gold medal. You hear the whole world cheering for you. That’s far greater than any other cheering you’re going to hear in basketball.”
Jordan believes winning the gold medal for your nation beats the feeling of winning a championship.
“Yeah,” he added. “The title is for Chicago and the Bulls fans around the United States, but the Olympics are for everybody in the United States and then some.”
In his career, Michael Jordan won the gold medal twice. He was part of Team USA in 1984 and 1992. On the other hand, Magic Johnson won it only once in 1992 as part of the Dream Team.
The Lakers legend averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 5.5 APG in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He helped the team in logging a perfect 8-0 record during the campaign.
Magic Johnson Convinced Michael Jordan And Larry Bird To Join Him On The 1992 Dream Team
The 1992 Dream Team is considered as the best basketball to ever be assembled. It featured the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and more NBA legends.
However, if it weren’t for Johnson, the Dream Team may have never had Jordan and Bird on the team. Magic revealed he had to convince the two legends to join the phenomenal team.
“Listen man, it’s been on my bucket list to play with you [Michael Jordan] and Larry – and we’re going to have fun being with each other because we had never really hung out like that,” Magic said. “I had to work on him, but finally he said yes.”
Johnson’s stubbornness bought Jordan and Bird onboard. It ultimately led to their friendship getting stronger than ever, while basketball fans witnessed the brilliance of the best NBA players winning the gold medal for the United States.
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