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It's really not a stretch to say the 1992 Dream Team changed the entire culture of international basketball. They came to the Olympics, blew everyone out, made basketball fans out of a new generation and encouraged other countries to build up their basketball facilities so they could one day challenge the mighty Americans in international play. You could honestly argue that the presence of so many international athletes in the NBA would not have been possible without the 1992 Dream Team.
And yet ... it took the Basketball Hall of Fame nearly two full decades to, you know, honor them in some way. Nice touch, guys.
The 1992 Dream Team, along with two of its members(Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone), Dennis Johnson, Gus Johnson (no, not that Gus Johnson), Jerry Buss, Bob Hurley Sr., Cynthia Cooper and the 1960 US Olympic Team, compose the Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2010. Pippen and Malone were eligible for the first time this year, while the others have waited to receive their recognition. All deserve it, of course.
But seriously, it took 18 years to commemorate the greatest international team of all time? Come on, Hall of Fame, you're better than that.
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Do we realize Christian Laettner just made the Hall of Fame?
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by Jason Kirk on Apr 5, 2010 6:02 PM EDT reply actions
Changed International Play??????
Why not say it was actually the other way round? You forgot that NBA-players were only called in the first place because the increasing level of play in other countries was actually catching up with the American College Programs, all pretty much exposed in the 88 Olympics where Soviet Union, led by Arvydas Sabonis, trashed the David Robinson-led American team in the semi-finals. This fact actually created a chain reaction that eventually led to the call-up of the best players in the NBA, most of them already or almost reaching their prime in 92, to prevent a beating like that would never take place ever again.
“You could honestly argue that the presence of so many international athletes in the NBA would not have been possible without the 1992 Dream Team.”
You can honestly argue that the 92 Dream Team is how the NBA got REALLY international, not the other way round, my friend. I’ll just remind you that there were already Euro-players in the NBA before, even though never taken that high in the draft, and actually America’s more professional involvement in the international scene was what set their eyes on international talent. Well, that and the disbanding of the 92 Dream Team, specially Michael Jordan, the face of the NBA, that left the game empty of the charismatic faces that brought international attention on the first place (i’m talking MJ, Barkley, Ewing, Robinson…), as they slowly faded into side-roles and physical limitation. And that’s when the real international interest kickstarted, well exemplified by the top-10 draft-picking of Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming or Pau Gasol, for example, that attracted a new generation to the NBA (specially the Chinese Wall).
So, please, next time you wanna analyse the impact of the 92 Dream Team, think harder, man, don’t be so USA-centric. I mean, it’s not like the current international players in the league are trying to be like Mike…
by honeyryderChuckE on Apr 6, 2010 5:24 AM EDT reply actions
It is about damn time
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by Patssuck456 on Apr 6, 2010 10:54 PM EDT reply actions
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