I just finished reading DREAM TEAM by Sports Illustrated's Jack McAllum. Anyone who follows the NBA knows who Jack McAllum is. He's been around forever(not as forever as Bob Ryan though) and was one of the few journalists who was actually granted all-access to Team USA during the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games.
I give it a solid 8.5/10 as a whole. McAllum has some really nice stories and anecdotes in the book even though he's not as entertaining as a writer as ESPN's Bill Simmons.
Here are a few quotes and anecdotes that you may or may not know.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olympic Journalist in 1992: "How much do you know about Angola, the country of your first Olympic opponent?"
Charles Barkley: "I don't know nuthin' bout Angola, but Angola's in trouble."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Jordan was reluctant to join the team because he enjoyed playing golf during the off-season so much. He joined on two conditions/reasons. First because the coach, Chuck Daly, was also an avid golfer. Therefore he would understand the need to schedule practices around tee times. The other one, Michael said he wouldn't join if bitter rival Isiah Thomas was chosen on the team.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Larry Bird's back was killing him at this point of his career. He severely injured it shoveling gravel at his mom's French Lick, Indiana residence back in 1985 and now it was worst than ever. He was in so much pain at that point that he spent plane rides laying down on his back in the aisle. It caused him to miss practices and everyone knows that his involvement(and his co-captaincy with Magic) on the Dream Team was more symbolic than because he was still at his old MVP level, because he clearly wasn't.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magic Johnson was coming off the toughest year of his life. He was diagnosed with HIV a few months before and retired from the NBA. When he joined the Dream Team, he was reluctant to cede his position as Basketball's top dog on the planet to Michael Jordan. This lead to a memorable showdown in an intersquad scrimmage in Monte Carlo, Monaco that was labeled as "The Greatest Game No One ever Saw" and its video footage is considered Basketball's Holy Grail.
Jordan's team won 40-36. To rub it in Magic's face, Michael started singing the "Like Mike" gatorade theme song to him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The team's odd couple were Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird. They were nicknamed Harry & Larry. Everyone was surprised that a Jamaican kid from New York could end up being close friends with a country boy from Indiana. Before joining the NBA, Patrick used to joke around with his black friends that Bird was overrated simply because he was white. If he were black, he would be just another good player.
The first time Ewing faced the Celtics in his rookie season, Bird dropped 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists. After the game, Ewing called his black friends and told them the following.
"Remember all the stuff we used to say about Larry Bird being overrated? Scratch that. That mother****er right there is the truth."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Jordan's uber competitiveness and trash talking in everything he does is legendary. It is therefore no surprise that when he lost a table tennis match to Christian Laettner in Barcelona, he broke the racquet in half and stormed out of the room.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even though Magic and Larry were the two official captains, the main leadership role came from Michael Jordan and also from Magic. Larry's back was killing him and he didn't really care about the day to day duties about being a captain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Barkley was a lightning rod for controversy during the Olympics after elbowing a player from Angola despite the game already being a blowout. He made up for it over the course of those two weeks with his unbelievable play and because he was by far the most entertaining and charismatic Dream Teamer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Jordan was a zombie in Barcelona. His daily schedule consisted of 18 or 36 holes of Golf in the morning. Basketball practice, or a game, during the afternoon. In the evening, he gambled in the casino or played cards(for money) with the other players until 5:00 or 6:00 am. He would repeat this schedule for the whole duration of the two weeks. The man never slept.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Bull's GM Jerry Krause drafted Croatian guard Toni Kukoc before the 1992 Olympics but he had not played for them yet. When Scottie Pippen's contract expired, Krause did not want to give him a raise because he was saving money for Kukoc. This infuriated Pippen. During the first Croatia/USA match(they later rematched in the gold medal game), Jordan and Pippen made it their duty to guard Kukoc. They barely let him touch the ball. All the Dream Teamers remember vividly that Jordan and Pippen's defense on Kukoc was borderline criminal because of how agressive it was. Jordan and Pippen weren't playing Kukoc, they were playing Jerry Krause in a Croatia uniform. Kukoc finished the game with 4 points and 7 turnovers.
To this day, this game is refered to as "The Kukoc Game".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the medal ceremony, Michael Jordan and other players had carefully placed American flags on their shoulders in order to hide the Reebok logo.
I give it a solid 8.5/10 as a whole. McAllum has some really nice stories and anecdotes in the book even though he's not as entertaining as a writer as ESPN's Bill Simmons.
Here are a few quotes and anecdotes that you may or may not know.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olympic Journalist in 1992: "How much do you know about Angola, the country of your first Olympic opponent?"
Charles Barkley: "I don't know nuthin' bout Angola, but Angola's in trouble."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Jordan was reluctant to join the team because he enjoyed playing golf during the off-season so much. He joined on two conditions/reasons. First because the coach, Chuck Daly, was also an avid golfer. Therefore he would understand the need to schedule practices around tee times. The other one, Michael said he wouldn't join if bitter rival Isiah Thomas was chosen on the team.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Larry Bird's back was killing him at this point of his career. He severely injured it shoveling gravel at his mom's French Lick, Indiana residence back in 1985 and now it was worst than ever. He was in so much pain at that point that he spent plane rides laying down on his back in the aisle. It caused him to miss practices and everyone knows that his involvement(and his co-captaincy with Magic) on the Dream Team was more symbolic than because he was still at his old MVP level, because he clearly wasn't.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magic Johnson was coming off the toughest year of his life. He was diagnosed with HIV a few months before and retired from the NBA. When he joined the Dream Team, he was reluctant to cede his position as Basketball's top dog on the planet to Michael Jordan. This lead to a memorable showdown in an intersquad scrimmage in Monte Carlo, Monaco that was labeled as "The Greatest Game No One ever Saw" and its video footage is considered Basketball's Holy Grail.
Jordan's team won 40-36. To rub it in Magic's face, Michael started singing the "Like Mike" gatorade theme song to him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The team's odd couple were Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird. They were nicknamed Harry & Larry. Everyone was surprised that a Jamaican kid from New York could end up being close friends with a country boy from Indiana. Before joining the NBA, Patrick used to joke around with his black friends that Bird was overrated simply because he was white. If he were black, he would be just another good player.
The first time Ewing faced the Celtics in his rookie season, Bird dropped 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists. After the game, Ewing called his black friends and told them the following.
"Remember all the stuff we used to say about Larry Bird being overrated? Scratch that. That mother****er right there is the truth."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Jordan's uber competitiveness and trash talking in everything he does is legendary. It is therefore no surprise that when he lost a table tennis match to Christian Laettner in Barcelona, he broke the racquet in half and stormed out of the room.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even though Magic and Larry were the two official captains, the main leadership role came from Michael Jordan and also from Magic. Larry's back was killing him and he didn't really care about the day to day duties about being a captain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Barkley was a lightning rod for controversy during the Olympics after elbowing a player from Angola despite the game already being a blowout. He made up for it over the course of those two weeks with his unbelievable play and because he was by far the most entertaining and charismatic Dream Teamer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Jordan was a zombie in Barcelona. His daily schedule consisted of 18 or 36 holes of Golf in the morning. Basketball practice, or a game, during the afternoon. In the evening, he gambled in the casino or played cards(for money) with the other players until 5:00 or 6:00 am. He would repeat this schedule for the whole duration of the two weeks. The man never slept.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Bull's GM Jerry Krause drafted Croatian guard Toni Kukoc before the 1992 Olympics but he had not played for them yet. When Scottie Pippen's contract expired, Krause did not want to give him a raise because he was saving money for Kukoc. This infuriated Pippen. During the first Croatia/USA match(they later rematched in the gold medal game), Jordan and Pippen made it their duty to guard Kukoc. They barely let him touch the ball. All the Dream Teamers remember vividly that Jordan and Pippen's defense on Kukoc was borderline criminal because of how agressive it was. Jordan and Pippen weren't playing Kukoc, they were playing Jerry Krause in a Croatia uniform. Kukoc finished the game with 4 points and 7 turnovers.
To this day, this game is refered to as "The Kukoc Game".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the medal ceremony, Michael Jordan and other players had carefully placed American flags on their shoulders in order to hide the Reebok logo.