“After the Olympics, there was no question after that, that he was the alpha dog” - David Falk on Michael Jordan’s motivation going into the 1992 Olympics
When Michael Jordan joined up with the 1992 Olympic basketball team, nobody had any idea such an iconic roster had been constructed. After all, Team USA has always dominated the basketball category, and nobody expected this year to be any different.
Heading into the tournament, Magic Johnson was widely known to be the leader of Team USA - he was their best player and could hurt you in every way imaginable. But with Johnson having already announced his retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers, people were looking around for his successor. Enter Michael Jordan.
On this date in 1992, the USA Dream Team beats Cuba in 1st exhibition basketball game, 133-57. Jordan to Bird. Wooooooooo!
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The Chicago Bulls legend and arguably the greatest player of all time quickly displayed a killer instinct during practice and took pride in going directly at Johnson on every possession.
Let's not forget that the 1992 team was the first Team USA roster to allow NBA players in the Olympics, so while Johnson was the face of the team, he was a rookie on the international stage, just like Jordan.
Jordan could smell blood in the water - he knew that a strong showing during this international cycle would cement him as the leader of his country moving forwards.
"I think at the Olympics, there was an underlying card. Was it Magic was it Bird was, who was the best and I think after the Olympics, there was no question after that that he was the alpha dog. I think that's the things that motivated him to play," David Falk said during a recent episode of The Ringer's Icons Club podcast.
Michael Jordan | Dream Team v Venezuela | 1992 | Pre-Olympic Tournament
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Michael Jordan had won the battle for supremacy, not only over the team's elderstatesmen such as Magic and Bird, but also over his peers. Jordan went on to average 14.9 points, 4.1 steals, 4.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from two-point range.
With such a wide-spread impact, Jordan established himself on the world-stage, on a star-studded team, full of the world’s best players, the 28-year-old was clearly on a different level.
Michael Jordan Wasn't The Most Beloved In Barcelona
Despite Jordan's incredible level of play, he wasn't the player that the Catalans took to their hearts as they saved their adoration for Charles Barkley. Chuck ended the tournament as Team USA'S leading scorer.
The Hall of Fame big man shot 87.5% from three, averaged 18 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game - and he did it in style. Barkley's unique personality and physical brand of basketball somehow managed to outshine Jordan's dominance, at least for the Spanish audience.
However, back home, Michael Jordan's place at the top of the NBA table was already set, and he was unequivocally the best player in the world. That's what happens when you prove you can dominate on the international stage as well as on the domestic level.