Michael Jordan Once Completely Shut Down NCAA Star During Dream Team Scrimmage

.

.

.

USA defeated Croatia 117-85 in the gold medal game of the Barcelona Summer Olympics August 8, 1992. This was the original Dream Team, and was the first American Olympic team to feature active professional players from the NBA. The starting five consisted of Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Scottie Pippen. The team has been described as one of the greatest sports team ever assembled.

The 1992 United States Olympic basketball team is considered the greatest collection of talent in sports history.

It was the first year professional players were allowed to participate in Olympic competition. As expected, they rolled through the field to win the gold medal without losing a game.

The team did, however, lose on scrimmage to a group of NCAA stars. The loss led to yet another story of Michael Jordan’s competitiveness. After the defeat, Jordan made it personal against All-American guard Allan Houston.

Jamal Mashburn, who played on the collegiate team, told the story during the HBO documentary “We Beat The Dream Team.”

“The day before, Allan Houston went off for like 20-something (points),” Mashburn said. “I remember Jordan said something to the effect of, `You’re not going to off a shot … And that day Allan Houston did not get [the ball] above his shoulders. And that’s when I realized how good Michael was.”

https://twitter.com/JordanMuse_/status/1894766201458278774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1894766201458278774%7Ctwgr%5Eca5b571b4172eb9ad39ab9d44f89476f23877793%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Ffannation%2Fbackinthedaynba%2Fmichael-jordan-once-completely-shut-down-ncaa-star-during-dream-team-scrimmage-01jn1n72h475

Mashburn said it was just another way of being in awe of Jordan. He is often considered the greatest scorer in NBA history but he also could do it on the offensive end. Many feel that separated him from the likes of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Clyde Drexler.

“With all those Hall of Fame players, if you didn’t know anything about basketball, you can tell who the best player on the court was,” Mashburn said.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at [email protected]