“All Trying to Kill Each Other”: Dream Team Star Reveals Shocking Details About Michael Jordan & 1992 Olympics Practice

The NBA community swears by Chicago Bulls’ star Michael Jordan and his tough nature to get things done for his team in games between the Conferences. Who knew he would take it all the way to the Olympics!

Recently, one of his former Dream Team teammates opened up about what MJ brought to the team training sessions during the 1992 Olympics and how it affected everyone.

When Michael Jordan inspired Dream Team to use their rivalry for the side’s betterment

The 1992 US men’s Olympic basketball team was nicknamed the “Dream Team”. American and international journalists described the team as the greatest sports team ever assembled.

MJ’s teammate on the Dream Team, Charles Barkley, was recently on ESPN’s show, Get Up. On the show, Barkley mostly talked about the intensity Michael Jordan and others brought to the team practices.

The host asked Barkley if he remembered anything from the legendary team practice in which Jordan had to make sure his team won. Recalling the practice session, Barkley said, “Well, it was a battle of egos. It was awesome, the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

Barkley then explained how everyone on the team was competing against each other. He said, “You had me and Karl Malone who were the best two power forwards in the world. We were trying to kill each other every day. You had Michael, who hated Clyde Drexler. They were trying to kill each other.

“You had David Roberts and Scottie Pippen, who were trying to prove who was the best centre in the world. They were trying to kill each other. Then there was Magic, who was trying to prove that Scottie had just beat him in the finals. He wanted to get revenge!”

The Michael Jordan-Clyde Drexler rivalry was rather hot at the time, as the former had recently defeated the latter in the playoffs. Jordan made it a point to break Drexler mentally and probably exhaust him physically too. This may have inspired the others to come and fight it all out.

When egos made everyone perform better

The 57-year-old also explained why it was an amazing time even with all the bad blood.

“It was the most intense thing. It was like that every single day. Guys were all trying to prove their point. It was amazing for two reasons. Number one, because we were all trying to kill each other.

“It was also amazing because once the game was over we got on the bus and went back to the hotel together. We act like nothing ever happened. That’s how cool it was,” he concluded.

All of that rivalry was probably for the best. It was apparent on the court when the US Men’s Basketball team defeated the Croatian team 117-85 to win an Olympic gold medal.