1992: The "Dream Team"

1992: "The Dream Team"

    

1992, United States men's Olympic Basketball team or as many people called them, the "Dream Team," was the very first Olympic team to have NBA participates play with them.  Some of the NBA players on the bench were John Stockton, Scotties Pippen, Clyde Drexler, and David Robinson.  On the court, the starting players were the legends.....Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone. They were considered the best team in basketball history, and their incredible talent led people to believe that they were, "the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet."  Everyone enjoyed watching them play and continued to be amazed about how the team's ongoing progression increased.

  

Preparing for the Olympics

       There is not much knowledge about how the Dream Team prepared for their important events, but as I have dug a little deeper in my research, I have come to know that the team practiced daily. Their schedule was that they trained six times a week for two weeks, including games against other teams. From the videos I have watched, and put in the links below, the team must have done a lot of tactical and skill work in their drills.  I would also venture to guess that in their practice they did physical development,  as well. This includes working on their upper and lower body strength.

Moments of the Olympics

     During the time of the Olympics, " The team crushed the competition as it made its way towards the final, winning all eight games, and ultimately defeated Croatia to bring home the gold metal." Before retrieving their award, the basketball team beat all their other opponents by the average of 44 points. Being 44 points ahead usually, leaves a team in the dust, and makes it very difficult to catch up before the game ends. Even in the moments of trying to catch up, the Dream Team always pushes right past them and ends up victorious, every time. This is why this team is still celebrated today, as the GREATEST team ever assembled. 

Links that helped support my claims and statements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhnj-kr9_Zs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_FCBeNewcA

http://www.rd.com/culture/13-olympic-moments-that-changed-history/

http://www.factmonster.com/spot/summer-olympics-dream-team.html

http://www.nba.com/history/dreamT_moments.html