More than thirty years ago, the Dream Team of 1992 from the United States won their first game in Barcelona and it was as close as you can get. They didn’t win another until 1996 when they beat Greece but this is where our story begins. The Dream Team lost a hard fought battle to Croatia just days before winning an historic gold medal at the Summer Olympics, only then did they realize that one of those games had been taken off the scoreboard and replaced by two empty slots because somebody thought it wasn’t important enough
The “who did the dream team beat in 1992” is a question that has been asked by many people. The answer is the score was removed from the scoreboard before the media entered.
The Summer Olympics were in full swing in Seoul, South Korea, on September 28, 1988. Basketball featured a dramatic contest between two fierce rivals at the time.
This rivalry didn’t start on the basketball court; it sprung from political disagreements at a time when the Cold War was at its peak.
The game was between the US basketball team and the Soviet Union basketball team in the semi-finals.
No NBA player was eligible to compete in the Olympics at the time. Professional league players were only permitted to play in other nations since they were classified as amateurs by FIBA.
The United States team was defeated by the Soviet Union 82-76, putting their dignity on the line. This is bad for America. However, by the time the 1992 Olympics rolled around, the US squad would be well prepared.
FIBA decided in 1989 to amend the regulation and enable NBA players to compete.
The Soviet Union recommended that national teams be limited to to two NBA players, but this proposal was unanimously rejected.
The first 10 players were chosen for the roster on September 21, 1991:
Michael Jordan, basketball player
Scottie Pippen (Scottie Pippen)
– Johnson, Magic
Larry Bird (Larry Bird)
– Stockton, John
– Malone, Karl
Patrick Ewing, author
– Robinson, David
– Barkley, Charles
Chris Mullin, author
On May 12, 1992, the last two roster positions were chosen, over eight months later. First, Clyde Drexler was chosen over Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons.
The United States basketball committee then chose Christian Laettner of Duke University as a homage to the amateurs who have represented the United States in the Olympics throughout history.
With the 1992 Olympic Men’s Basketball Team in place, they’ll undoubtedly crush any opponent standing in their way. Right?
A Star-Studded Dream Team
When you look at the 1992 Dream Team’s roster, you’d assume that all of that skill could simply go out and play the game together.
This, however, is not the case. When it comes to NBA teams who have three or more All-Stars on their rosters, it often doesn’t work out, at least not immediately away.
The 2004 Los Angeles Lakers are a prime illustration of this. The Lakers already had the dynamite tandem of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, but they opted to add Karl Malone and Gary Payton, two elderly legends.
This squad seemed to be invincible on paper. From the start of the season, they were the obvious favorites.
Even though they struggled throughout the regular season, they rebounded in the playoffs to comfortably reach the NBA Finals. They’d play the Detroit Pistons, a squad with no significant standout players.
Those “no-name” Pistons would go on to crush the Lakers in the Finals, winning 4-1 and putting an end to the Lakers’ dynasty as well as the Kobe-Shaq pairing we all adored.
Chuck Daly, the 1992 USA Men’s Basketball Head Coach, wanted to make a point to his star-studded squad, so he began having workouts with them.
Pros from the Dream Team vs. College Players
Head Coach Chuck Daly assembled a roster of great college players to compete against the Dream Team.
Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, Grant Hill, and Jamal Mashburn, to mention a few, were noteworthy collegiate players who went on to become NBA stars.
The goal was to prepare the Dream Team for a live-action production. Even though most people in the media didn’t believe team chemistry mattered on a team with this much skill, it was a method to establish it.
This is when Coach Daly’s genius came into play. It wasn’t so much that he’d bring in elite college players to play on the Dream Team, but rather the scrimmage method he used.
When the professionals took on the college students, it was clear that this bunch of young guys could play. They had a hard time stopping Chris Webber, who was dominant at the rim.
Allan Houston was a three-point shooting machine, while point guard Bobby Hurley, who only played 269 games in the NBA, effectively attacked the paint on many occasions against the powerful Dream Team.
In a 2015 interview, Grant Hill noted, “I was on the college squad that defeated the Dream Team, and so we trained with them in La Jolla.” Rodney Rogers, Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, Bobby Hurley, Eric Montross, Jamal Mashburn We defeated them by 20 the first day we practiced against them.”
“In the scrimmage, Houston hit ten three-pointers. They were unable to make any progress with Webber. I swear, Webber was annihilating these dudes. We’ve all experienced our share of highs and lows. They couldn’t keep Bobby Hurley out of the paint, either.”
Grant Hill claimed that his college team beat the Dream Team by 20 points, although that claim is disputed. The final score was 62-54, according to reports.
Coach Daly took the score off the scoreboard before the media arrived, so we may never know the actual score.
Whatever the final score was, the game looked like it belonged in a Twilight Zone episode. But there was more to the tale than a group of college students thrashing some of the world’s top pros.
Coach Daly’s Inaugural Address To The Dream Team
Larry Bird said something noteworthy about the scrimmage versus the college team in an interview for an NBA TV program on the Dream Team.
“They were playing fantastically… Then I discovered Michael Jordan wasn’t on the lineup.”
That’s true, Coach Daly only used Michael Jordan in the scrimmage for a few minutes. He also makes poor coaching judgments on purpose. Coach Daly’s Dream Team assistant coach, Mike Krzyzewski, took note of these actions.
Coach Krzyzewski remarked, “He threw the game.” “If you look at how much Jordan played and how he substituted in the players without picking up or making any changes, you can see he understood what he was doing.”
Coach Krzyzewski has made a big remark, one that Grant Hill does not agree with.
Hill said, “Coach K said they threw it.” “I like Coach K, but I’m not convinced.”
Regardless of who you believe, Coach Krzyzewski or Grant Hill, the next time these two teams meet, the result will be drastically different.
The Revenge of the Dream Team
Members of the 1992 Olympic Men’s Basketball Team expressed nothing but appreciation and respect for their youthful opponents after being defeated by a bunch of great college players.
Scottie Pippen recalled of the scrimmage, “These little guys were killing us.” “We had no idea how to interact with one other.”
Chris Webber was lauded by Larry Bird, who said:
“Chris Webber was a guy,” says the narrator. ‘Wow, that guy’s coming into the league,’ I thought. ‘I’ve got to get out of here,’ I said.
Michael Jordan even added his two cents on the collegiate players:
“Today, we were assassinated. They outplayed us and played brilliantly. We’re so out of sync and uncertain of ourselves that we’re at ease in everyday settings. We don’t have any kind of continuity. They’d take silver at the Olympics if they competed.”
Even while the Dream Team praised the college players, they secretly desired vengeance.
The Dream Squad finally looked like the team the media had hyped them up to be in the second and final scrimmage between the two teams.
“We couldn’t move the ball across half-court the following day,” Grant Hill remarked of the rematch.
The next game, the Dream Team apparently defeated the college players by 100 points. The Dream Team’s defense was so suffocating, as Hill said, that they could scarcely move the ball past the half-court line.
The Dream Team was completely complete as a unit after the second scrimmage. Coach Daly’s strategy worked well. They were well aware that they may be defeated.
The Dream Team would not let up on the gas against any opponent, regardless of their ability level.
This was a wonderful experiment that resulted in Olympic basketball excellence. The Gold was won by the Dream Team, who won by an average of 44 points.
The globe got to discover who were actually the top basketball players in the world thanks to a “thrown” scrimmage and a redemption scrimmage game…
Oh, and Michael Jordan played a lot more in the second scrimmage game against the college guys than he did in the first. Jordan, it’s reasonable to say, took it personally.
Next
What Has Happened to the 1992 USA Dream Team?
What Has Happened to the 1996 USA Dream Team?
The NBA’s Top 75 Players Are Divided Into Tiers: There Is Only One GOAT
The All-Time Best NBA Player From Every State: The GOAT Is From New York
Michael Jordan’s All-Time Record Against Each NBA Team: The Cleveland Cavaliers were annihilated by the GOAT.
The “who led the dream team in scoring” is a question that has been asked for years. The answer to the question will be revealed in this blog post.
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