Where are Olympic 'Dream Team' stars today?
Two decades ago a "Dream Team" of NBA players dominated in Barcelona on the way to gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Join us for a look at what the team's stars have been up to since.
It's been 20 years since USA's basketball "Dream Team," the first Olympics team consisting of professional players, dominated in Barcelona on their way to gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics. See what the stars have been up to since.
It's been 20 years since USA's basketball "Dream Team," the first Olympics team consisting of professional players, dominated in Barcelona on their way to gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics. See what the stars have been up to since.
The "Dream Team," which reunited in 2010 for the squad's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, saw NBA legends Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson start every game in Barcelona, while Scottie Pippen and Chris Mullin, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing, and Karl Malone and Charles Barkley rotated in the other starting spots. The closest of Team USA's eight matches was its 117–85 victory in the gold medal game against Croatia.
Arguably the greatest NBA player ever, Michael Jordan had just won his second-straight NBA title with the Bulls when the 1992 Summer Olympics began. He also already had an Olympic gold medal, winning one with the 1984 team in Los Angeles following his junior season with North Carolina.
Jordan would go on to win a total of six NBA titles with the Bulls, in the form of two three-peats sandwiching a year and half playing minor league baseball. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, becoming part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 for the Wizards.
Since retiring for good after the 2003 season, Jordan first bought a minority share in his home-state Charlotte Bobcats that came with full control over the team's basketball operations. In 2010 he became the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner of a league franchise.
Already a five-time NBA champion and all-time great by the time the 1992 Olympics came around, Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson had retired from the NBA in 1991 after testing positive for HIV. His stint with the "Dream Team" had him considering a return to the NBA, which he abandoned before the 1992-93 season. He would coach the Lakers near the end of the 1993–94 NBA season and return briefly as a player in 1996 before retiring for good.
Johnson now runs Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company that has a net worth of $700 million. Its subsidiaries include Magic Johnson Productions, a promotional company; Magic Johnson Theaters, a nationwide chain of movie theaters; and Magic Johnson Entertainment, a movie studio. He also once was a minority owner of the Lakers before selling his ownership stake in 2010. In March 2012, an ownership group including Johnson successfully bought the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Despite worries from the player selection committee that the often controversial and always outspoken Charles Barkley wouldn't represent Team USA well, Barkley proved a force in Barcelona, leading the team in scoring (16.3), rebounding (6.7) and steals (12).
Barkley played his first eight seasons in Philadelphia before demanding a trade, which he got shortly before the 1992 Olympics. He would play four more seasons each for the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets before retiring in 2000 as the fourth player in NBA history to achieve 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists.
Since retiring as a player, Barkley has had a successful career as a television NBA analyst, working with TNT as a studio pundit for its coverage of NBA games. He's also toyed with a run for political office, announcing in 2008 he would run for governor in his native state of Alabama in 2014 before changing is mind in 2010.
Another one of the NBA's all-time greats, Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird was a shoo-in for the team despite his back problems. Those back problems would lead him to announce his retirement from the NBA following the 1992 Olympics.
After retiring, Bird took a position with the Celtics as a special assistant in the team's front office from 1992 to 1997. In 1997 he became the head coach of his home-state Indiana Pacers, earning NBA Coach of the Year honors in his first season and leading the team to two consecutive Central Division titles in 1999 and 2000. He resigned as coach in 2000, but returned as the team's president of basketball operations in 2003, a position he held through June 2012, when he resigned over health issues.
Karl Malone and his Utah Jazz and "Dream Team" teammate John Stockton (seen here in 2003) were both cut from the 1984 gold-medal winning squad. But they both returned in 1992. Malone was second on the team in scoring (14.8 points per game) and rebounding (5.8). Stockton suffered a leg injury in a tournament leading up to the Olympics and was limited to two games in Barcelona, totaling 10 points, 12 assists, 1 steal and 1 rebound.
Malone, nicknamed "The Mailman," spent his first 18 seasons between 1985 and 2003 with the Utah Jazz before playing his final season in 2003–04 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 36,298 points in his career, the second most career points in NBA history, won the NBA MVP award in 1997 and 1999, and appeared in the playoffs every season in his career, including three NBA Finals.
Since retiring, Malone has focused on two of his passions, hunting and fishing. In May 2007, he also became director of basketball promotion and assistant strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater Louisiana Tech University, a position he still holds today. He's seen here in 2011 visiting troops in Afghanistan.
Stockton, who holds the NBA records for most career assists and steals, retired in 2003 after spending his entire career with the Jazz. In 2009 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, choosing rival point guard Isiah Thomas, who he beat out to make the "Dream Team," to present him at the induction ceremony.
Chris Mullin provided the "Dream Team" with some dependable long-range shooting, hitting 15-of-30 three-point shots in Barcelona, boosting him to No. 3 on the team in scoring, behind only Barkley and Malone.
Mullin spent the first 12 seasons of his career with Golden State before playing three years for the Indiana Pacers under fellow "Dream Team" member Larry Bird. After a final season with Golden State in 2000-01, he retired and went to work in the team's front office. After his contract was not renewed in 2009, he went to work at ESPN as an NBA analyst.
David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs played on the 1988 USA basketball squad that finished a disappointing third in Seoul, South Korea. Given another chance, he lead the team in blocks in 1992 with 11, adding in 11.8 points a game and 5.3 rebounds.
Nicknamed "The Admiral" from his time at the U.S. Naval Academy, Robinson teamed up with Tim Duncan to bring two titles to the San Antonio Spurs, retiring after the second in 2003. In retirement, Robinson, seen here in 2012 with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, has focused on philanthropy, including funding a private school in San Antonio and forming Admiral Capital Group, a private equity firm whose mission is to invest in opportunities that can provide both financial and social returns.
Patrick Ewing, who previously won a gold medal during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, played most of his career with the NBA's New York Knicks as their starting center and played briefly with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. For the Dream Team he 11.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds along with 10 blocks, one short of team leader Robinson.
These days, Ewing (left) is an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic, a position he has held since 2007.
Scottie Pippen, Jordan's teammate with the Chicago Bulls and an instrumental part of the team's six NBA titles, competed with Jordan for the right to defend Croatia's Toni Kukoc in the gold medal game since Kukoc had just signed a deal with the Bulls.
After 11 seasons with the Bulls, Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets for the lockout-shortened 1999 season. He then spent several years with the Portland Trailblazers before playing one more injury-plagued season with the Bulls in 2003-04 and then retiring. He made a brief comeback to pro basketball in 2008 at the age of 42, playing two games for Finnish league team Torpan Pojat and Swedish league team Sundsvall.
Pippen rejoined the Bulls as a team ambassador in 2010. In July 2012, he joined up with 11 other retired NBA players, including Jason Williams (right) for a barnstorming tour of Asia.
The final professional spot was debated between Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers and Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons, with Drexler making the cut.
A 10-time All-Star and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Clyde "The Glide" won an NBA championship in 1995 with the Houston Rockets. Today is the color commentator for Rockets home games.
Christian Laettner was the only player selected for the national team without any professional experience. The two-time national champion with Duke beat out Louisiana State University's Shaquille O'Neal for the final spot.
Laettner, who was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, about a month after being selected for the Olympics squad, went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA for the Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards and Miami Heat.
Today, Laettner is a current assistant coach of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. He also came back to play several games in 2011-12 with the Jacksonville Giants of the ABA.
Joe Dumars would have substituted for any injured players. Dumars retired in 1999 after 14 seasons with the Detroit Pistons, during which they won two NBA tiles (1989 and 1990.) Today Dumars, seen here in 2011 with Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank, is the team's president of basketball operations.
The team was coached by Detroit Pistons head coach Chuck Daly. Daly, who won back-to-back NBA titles with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990, coached for three other teams in a 14-year career. He passed away from pancreatic cancer in May 2009 at the age of 78.
Among Daly's assistant coaches was Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is now Team USA's head coach for the 2012 London Games. Krzyzewski, who has won four NCAA titles in his 32 years at Duke, was joined by fellow assistant coaches Lenny Wilkens and P.J. Carlesimo in Barcelona.
Five members of the original "Dream Team" (Barkley, Malone, Pippen, Robinson and Stockton) went on to win gold again in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. That team also featured Gary Patyon (second from left), Grant Hill (far right), Penny Hardaway, Hakeem Olajuwon, Reggie Miller, Shaquille O'Neal and Mitch Richmond.
