Michael Jordan on playing point guard for the Dream Team: “I told the players…
Michael Jordan on playing point guard for the Dream Team: “I told the players before the game I’m not Magic Johnson”
The 1992 Barcelona Olympics USA squad is recognized as the best team ever assembled. However, the Dream Team was far from being the healthiest.
They headed to Barcelona with Larry Bird dealing with injuries and Magic Johnson coming out of retirement due to HIV. John Stockton, meanwhile, suffered a fractured right fibula after Michael Jordan inadvertently ran into his Olympic teammate during a qualifying game. Then Magic strained a muscle during their second game against Croatia.
When Stockton got hurt, USA Basketball still had two weeks to submit its final lineup to the Olympic committee. Instead of taking Isiah Thomas, they decided to wait for John because MJ reportedly did not want to play with Zeke.
Jordan himself solved the team’s point guard, playing 24 minutes and dishing out a game-high 12 assists while scoring 15 points. Jordan’s team got a huge lift from Bird, who defied his physical limitations and scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting in a 111-68 win.
“You know, I’m not a bad utility man,” Jordan added after the game. “I know the fans were a little disappointed not to see Magic … they missed seeing him play.”
MJ was once the Bulls’ starting PG
Late in the 1988-89 season, frustrated with his teammates’ lack of production, Mike decided to be the Bulls’ point guard the rest of the way, and he did a fantastic job at it.
Jordan averaged 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 10.7 assists, and 2.5 steals per contest during that 24-game season-closing stretch, including 10 triple-doubles during an 11-game period. He felt that he was doing a great job and even thought about moving to point guard permanently.
The Bulls drafted B.J. Armstrong that offseason, and he would prove to be a solid backup to John Paxson. Jordan returned to his natural shooting guard position the following season. But as GM Jerry Krause noted, his stint at point guard enhanced his leadership qualities, which were key during their six-championship run in the 1990s.
