Charles Barkley Reveals Hidden Drama Surrounding 1992 Olympic Dream Team

Shandel Richardson | Jun 29, 2024

1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games - Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing. Xxx Dream Team 435 Jpg S Oly Bko / USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services,

The 1992 Olympic Dream Team is among the most celebrated collection of stars in sports history.

They made a mockery of the competition, rolling to the gold medal in Barcelona. It was the first time the United States used professional players, so they could re-establish dominance after earning bronze in 1988.

Behind all the blowout victories, there was some inner-drama that Charles Barkley revealed in a conversation with former NBA player Stephen Jackson. Barkley said a roster full of egos led to serious battles in practice.

"It was crazy," Barkley said. "Magic [Johnson] was pissed because Scottie [Pippen] had just locked him up in the Finals, so he wanted revenge."

Pippen defended Johnson when the Chicago Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals. Johnson averaged 18.6 points, 12.4 assists and 8.0 rebounds in the series, but many felt Pippen's defense was the difference.

Then there was Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler, the league's two best shooting guards at the time. The Jordan-led Bulls were coming off beating Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the `92 Finals.

"Clyde Drexler kept insinuating that, `I'm just as good as Michael Jordan,"' Barkley said. "And Mike was ballistic."'

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It didn't stop there. Barkley himself was even at odds with Karl Malone during those few weeks.

"So, you got those two matchups, you got me and Karl Malone," Barkley said. "We're the two best power forwards in the world. We're the best two but I'm the one."

Finally, you had Patrick Ewing and David Robinson battling for supremacy at center. This was before Hakeem Olajuwon emerged as a champion in the mid-`90s.

"Then you got Patrick and David trying to prove who's the best center in the world," Barkley said. "Everybody was just going at it like that. Karl's one of my best friends, so I wanted that (expletive) to know that I'm the best (expletive) power forward in the world."

Barkley said the atmosphere the entire trip was like the playoffs.

"Everyday was like a Game 7," Barkley said. "I've never been in anything that's an intense. Everybody had something to prove."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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