The Dream Team that was assembled for the 1992 Olympics may go down in the annals of basketball as the single-greatest team ever assembled. While Team USA has had some stellar teams that have won the Gold medal, including the 2008 Redeem Team, few compare to the 1992 team that won the Gold in Barcelona.
The team was comprised of the biggest stars in the NBA at the time, headlined by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and other Hall of Famers. These players wouldn’t usually spend time together in the offseason due to their competitive rivalries, but they went out together as the Dream Team to a Mike Tyson fight.
Magic Johnson revealed what happened at that fight when Charles Barkley missed out on Tyson pulling off a 20-second knockout.
“The greatest moment happened when we went to a Tyson fight. Most of the Dream Team were all there together. And Charles Barkley stood up and said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna get drinks for everybody.’ So, he took everybody’s order. Well, the bell rang as he got in the hallway to order the drinks. And Mike went and knocked him out in 20 seconds. Charles Barkley comes back with all the drinks, and he said, ‘What happened?’ And we said, ‘The fight’s over.’ He threw the drinks in the air. He stormed off. He was so mad.”
Missing out on a Mike Tyson knockout like that would have to hurt, so we sympathize with Barkley’s reaction. Tyson was a boxing phenom in his prime, and failing to watch him in action at a time before highlights would be available on YouTube, has to sting.
The Impact Of The 1992 Dream Team
The 1992 Dream Team has so many stories it is hard to keep them all in mind. The team ran through the Olympics and won the Gold with ease. Charles Barkley was arguably the best player on the team with his sensational play in the Olympics, but even he wouldn’t dare to say he was better than Jordan.
Many people compare the 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams as worthy rivals of the 1992 squad, but neither of those teams would have been created if the 1992 team wasn’t put together. Making that team changed the course of how veteran NBA players look at representing their nation at the Olympics, with Team USA now on a 4-Gold medal-winning streak.
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