Today's DYL needs very little explantion.
But for the uninformed and uninitiated here it is: this is part of the vaunted 1992 Dream Team practice.
Michael Jordan had just won his second title and was ascending to the throne of the NBA. Nike, not yet a global force in sneakers, was riding his coattails and visage to dominance, and Jordan was loudly becoming the most famous man in the world.
Magic Johnson had just been diagnosed with HIV. The maestro who had organized the Showtime Lakers dynasty was now in the spotlight for different reasons. But Johnson was competitive and eager to hold onto his place atop the mountain.
Jordan was eager to prove himself the King of the NBA Hill.
And then this happened.
But for the uninformed and uninitiated here it is: this is part of the vaunted 1992 Dream Team practice.
Michael Jordan had just won his second title and was ascending to the throne of the NBA. Nike, not yet a global force in sneakers, was riding his coattails and visage to dominance, and Jordan was loudly becoming the most famous man in the world.
Magic Johnson had just been diagnosed with HIV. The maestro who had organized the Showtime Lakers dynasty was now in the spotlight for different reasons. But Johnson was competitive and eager to hold onto his place atop the mountain.
Jordan was eager to prove himself the King of the NBA Hill.
And then this happened.
The rest of the Dream Team roster looked something like this: Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, John Stockton, Charles Barkley (a controversial entry), Karl Malone, Larry Bird, Chris Mullins, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen and Christian Laettner.
The team was coached by the Detroit Pistons' Chuck Daly (and notably excluded Pistons' guard Isiah Thomas.
The team became an international fixation. It was beating teams by an average of 50 ppg during pre-Olympic tournaments. The Cuban team famously asked to get a photograph with the NBAers prior to tip-off (a game the Cubans would lose to the Americans by more than 50 points).
With the international competition proving itself so inferior, the players' focus turned inwards. Intra-squad scrimmages became so competitive that they would often last several hours and be conducted back-to-back (with Larry Bird, ailing from serious back injuries, watching from afar).
Those scrimmages became the stuff of legend. Buzz surrounding the events suggested that the games became a one-on-one machismo fest between Jordan and Magic.
In the video above, you can get a taste of what those scrimmages were like. And imagine how insignifcant Christian Laettner must have felt (having just won back-to-back titles with Duke, and hitting one of the most famous game-winning shots of all-time).
Enjoy----CM
The team was coached by the Detroit Pistons' Chuck Daly (and notably excluded Pistons' guard Isiah Thomas.
The team became an international fixation. It was beating teams by an average of 50 ppg during pre-Olympic tournaments. The Cuban team famously asked to get a photograph with the NBAers prior to tip-off (a game the Cubans would lose to the Americans by more than 50 points).
With the international competition proving itself so inferior, the players' focus turned inwards. Intra-squad scrimmages became so competitive that they would often last several hours and be conducted back-to-back (with Larry Bird, ailing from serious back injuries, watching from afar).
Those scrimmages became the stuff of legend. Buzz surrounding the events suggested that the games became a one-on-one machismo fest between Jordan and Magic.
In the video above, you can get a taste of what those scrimmages were like. And imagine how insignifcant Christian Laettner must have felt (having just won back-to-back titles with Duke, and hitting one of the most famous game-winning shots of all-time).
Enjoy----CM