Back in the day, the U.S. Olympic basketball team was made up of amateurs and the NBA pros helped get them ready, which is exactly the opposite of what happens now with the Select Team of college players helping the NBA’s finest to prep for gold.
In 1984, Bob Knight had an Olympic team that really was first rate. He had Patrick Ewing, Vern Fleming, Alvin Robertson, Sam Perkins, Wayman Tisdale, Chris Mullin and of course Michael Jordan. Duke’s Johnny Dawkins is on the team but we believe he was an alternate or one of the last cuts.
The NBA countered with Mark Aguirre, Robert Parish, Isaiah Thomas, Jim Paxson and Larry Bird and a strong bench.
This video is interesting for two reasons. First, this may have been the best Olympic team prior to the Dream Team, when we started sending NBA players. And second, it was one of the first times that the NBA got a hint of just how good Michael Jordan was going to be. A few months after this, and after his brilliant turn with the Olympic team, Jordan would electrify the NBA as a stunning rookie.
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