Speaker 1: This is the Dream Team Tapes, a Diversion Podcasts original
Speaker 1: series in association with I Heart Radio. This is the
Speaker 1: story of the United States Olympic basketball team that won
Speaker 1: gold in Barcelona in known worldwide as the Dream Team.
Speaker 1: First of all, let me say get after late afternoon, Um,
Speaker 1: because of HIV virus that I have attained, I will
Speaker 1: have to retire from the Lakers today. Many of us
Speaker 1: still remember where we were when we heard the announcement. Now,
Speaker 1: I'm not going to compare to the assassination of a president.
Speaker 1: Of course, I remember exactly where I was on November
Speaker 1: Mrs Harris's freshman English class at Okrest High School, when
Speaker 1: John Kennedy was shot in Dallas, or the day that
Speaker 1: planes flew to the World Trade Center. Even I was
Speaker 1: in my living room organizing a charity golf event for
Speaker 1: the day. But this was November seven. Around one o'clock
Speaker 1: that day, I had gotten a call from somebody in
Speaker 1: the NBA saying that Magic Johnson was going to retire
Speaker 1: from basketball due to a medical reason. What the hell,
Speaker 1: You'll have to come into the office to write a story.
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrators Basketball editor Sandy Padway told me, Now, what
Speaker 1: you have to understand, and what many younger listeners will
Speaker 1: find it hard to understand was that we weren't concentrating
Speaker 1: on the retirement part, or what it's going to do
Speaker 1: to the Lakers, or what it means to the n
Speaker 1: b A, or what it means to the dream team.
Speaker 1: What people of my age we're thinking was we're gonna
Speaker 1: watch him die. Irvan Johnson called Magic was to our
Speaker 1: collective mind, a dead man walking. Roy Johnson, who was
Speaker 1: an editor at s I in a book collaborator with Magic,
Speaker 1: flew to l A that day to shepherd through a
Speaker 1: first person story with Magic. That was the power of
Speaker 1: s I. Back then we got Magic's voice into the magazine. Now.
Speaker 1: The story I wrote for that week's magazine carried the
Speaker 1: single cover building Magic. The photo was Magic taking what
Speaker 1: he called his junior junior skyhook. No other writing than
Speaker 1: that single word magic. In the story, I conjured up
Speaker 1: all that was special about Magic and ended with this
Speaker 1: quote from San Antonio Spurs veteran forward Terry Cummings, the
Speaker 1: Lakers will never be the same team and the NBA
Speaker 1: will never be the same league. It bore the single
Speaker 1: word headline, unforgettable. Man. It sure looked and read like
Speaker 1: we were talking about a dead person. Hi, and welcome
Speaker 1: to episode four of the Dream Team Tapes, Tom Jack
Speaker 1: mc alum. Today we're gonna talk about several things. The
Speaker 1: organization of the Dream Team once they got together, the
Speaker 1: shocking while some thought so, defeat of the Dream Team
Speaker 1: in a scrimmage to a college all star team, the
Speaker 1: division of leadership within the Dream Team, and the singular
Speaker 1: what should I call it bravery hutzpah, a combination of
Speaker 1: the two that led a man who most of us
Speaker 1: thought was going to die to the pinnacle of the
Speaker 1: basketball world in Barcelona. We'll return to that, but let's
Speaker 1: figure out where we are now. The team has picked.
Speaker 1: They've arrived for the first practice session at you see
Speaker 1: San Diego. In a word, it's a zoo, hundreds and
Speaker 1: hundreds of reporters working outside. To a non journalist, maybe
Speaker 1: even to a young journalist, this is exciting now. Two
Speaker 1: hard bitten veterans like myself. That was my eight year
Speaker 1: covering the league, and I was about to turn forty three.
Speaker 1: It was a nightmare. And here's what I wrote about
Speaker 1: that scene in Dream Team. There we were the Nations
Speaker 1: and some of the world's sporting press, maybe five hundred
Speaker 1: of us on the steps of the University of California,
Speaker 1: San Diego, shuffling around with equal parts anticipation and exasperation,
Speaker 1: waiting for the doors of the Holy Temple to open,
Speaker 1: at which point we would prostrate ourselves at the feet
Speaker 1: of the Dream Team and grovel like face down chickens
Speaker 1: pecking in a field for any casually tossed out nuggets
Speaker 1: they might deign to cast our way. Okay, that's off
Speaker 1: my chest. Now. We were eventually allowed access to the
Speaker 1: Holy Temple, and there was the first sight of them together.
Speaker 1: It was, I grant you exciting or it was certainly
Speaker 1: at least interesting in its own way, But what had
Speaker 1: already happened would have been more interesting to see or
Speaker 1: listened to. I had to reconstruct all this later. The
Speaker 1: night before there had been a team meeting, and before
Speaker 1: that a couple of side meetings involving the head coach,
Speaker 1: Chuck Daily. The first one was between Daily and his
Speaker 1: assistants Mike Saski and p J. Carlesimo. Coach K describes it.
Speaker 1: In the first meeting, Duck said, the very first thing
Speaker 1: I want you guys to do, and you have whatever
Speaker 1: is worn to ignore. He said, we have a def
Speaker 1: players in the world, and you guys and p J,
Speaker 1: you two are going to look at every little thing
Speaker 1: which you'd have to do in your own world, but
Speaker 1: in our world most of it it's not that important.
Speaker 1: Learned to ignore. It's one of my favorite anecdotes from
Speaker 1: the book, these two eager to please college coaches coming
Speaker 1: in and Chuck saying, okay, let's chill a little bit. Fellas.
Speaker 1: Another meeting Daily had was with Magic and Jordan's he
Speaker 1: sets us down, like when I was like, uh, you
Speaker 1: guys going to be and the leaders of the team,
Speaker 1: and Michael before had been Michael's that Magic and he
Speaker 1: deferred to me. Now, Bird, who had every bit as
Speaker 1: big a claim to be ceremonial captain as Magic, had
Speaker 1: no problem with Magic being the front man. They were
Speaker 1: in fact named co captains, as Bird remembers it, but
Speaker 1: most of the captainish duties went to Magic. We had
Speaker 1: a meeting egos luring Magic's captain, but yet Magic sort
Speaker 1: of took more of the big Magic. He sort of
Speaker 1: took more of the role, no question, That's how he is.
Speaker 1: And I understand that there wasn't no eagle thing with me.
Speaker 1: If you want to carry the flag out there, carre
Speaker 1: the flag. Now there are appointed captains and there are
Speaker 1: actual captains, and there is no doubt who the real
Speaker 1: leader of the Dream Team was. Here's Patrick Ewing. You know,
Speaker 1: Michael was the leader, even though Magic, you know he
Speaker 1: said all the things. I mean, Michael, Michael, Michael. There
Speaker 1: was an edge to the Jordan Magic relationship. It really
Speaker 1: surfaces during the mystical the Greatest Game that nobody ever saw,
Speaker 1: Scrimmage and Monte Carlo, that is the subject of the
Speaker 1: sixth podcast in this series, and Bird figures into it.
Speaker 1: I had a theory that Jordan was a little bit
Speaker 1: jealous of the dual relationship that Magic and Bird had.
Speaker 1: Jordan's didn't have a co revolutionary, an immortal buddy, as
Speaker 1: it were, to march off into history and proclaim we
Speaker 1: saved the league together. It was always Magic and Bird
Speaker 1: as the eternal Alphonse and Gaston, the joint subjects of
Speaker 1: Jackie McMullen's great book when the Game was ours, But
Speaker 1: it was Michael alone, the eternal solitary man. I'm a
Speaker 1: one man guy in the morning, same in the afternoon,
Speaker 1: one man guy. When the sun goes down, I wiss
Speaker 1: me one man to whom what you'd prefer. I went
Speaker 1: for Neil Diamond, solitary man instead of the great Rufus
Speaker 1: Wayne Wrights one man guy. But Mike was is a
Speaker 1: true one man guy, and he never liked magics. Sometimes subtle,
Speaker 1: sometimes overt claims that the Dream Team belonged to him
Speaker 1: and Larry. But but as much as a guy sometimes
Speaker 1: didn't buy into the magic, I'm in charge here thing.
Speaker 1: There is no one anywhere that could deny the fortitude, courage,
Speaker 1: and yes, leadership that magic showed in combating HIV. He
Speaker 1: announced that he had the virus on November seven, and
Speaker 1: this happened on February nine, almost exactly three months later,
Speaker 1: show time in Orlando. The final seconds, you're not getting
Speaker 1: yes he is six ladies and gentlemen, it's just Tid
Speaker 1: Orchid get deliver three bread trades for Johnson at the
Speaker 1: end of the game one and falling away and as
Speaker 1: mother and father Urban Senior from Lansing, Michigan there to
Speaker 1: leave this year. That was the voice of Dick Enbergh
Speaker 1: calling down the final seconds of the All Star Game
Speaker 1: in Orlando, which ends with magic guarded, okay, kind of
Speaker 1: guarded by Isaiah making a three point shot. Magic played
Speaker 1: more minutes than anyone except Jordan's, scored more points than anyone,
Speaker 1: and handed out more assist than anyone nine and of
Speaker 1: course won the MVP Award. Only ninety four days had
Speaker 1: passed since the announcement that we thought was an announcement
Speaker 1: of slow deaths, and here he is not just not dying,
Speaker 1: but apparently getting better, starring in the All Star Game.
Speaker 1: And to answer everyone's question, yes, God damn it, I
Speaker 1: will be going to Barcelona. In those three months, Magic
Speaker 1: had resumed working out, started to eat healthy, started to
Speaker 1: talk about HIV, reaching out in his own magic way
Speaker 1: to others with HIV aids literally around the world. Now
Speaker 1: did he have missteps? Of course, he helped form a
Speaker 1: commission that managed to have no one with HIV or
Speaker 1: any gay mail on it, which at that time was
Speaker 1: a community suffering from the plague more than anyone. But
Speaker 1: Magic forged a head. Now there was backlash, such as
Speaker 1: the comment by Dr Brian Sando, the senior medical director
Speaker 1: of the Australian Olympic Federation's basketball program, quote to be
Speaker 1: read by my Australian producer Mark, I would certainly recommend
Speaker 1: that our basketball let's not come pete with a team
Speaker 1: in which Magic Johnson was a member. That risk. You
Speaker 1: cannot absolutely say it's navigating the care basketballers. Come on, dude,
Speaker 1: But look Sando was not some fringe guy. He was
Speaker 1: a well known doctor whose death in two thousand twelve
Speaker 1: was mourned throughout the Australian sports world. So his was
Speaker 1: not an out their opinion, and it was shared by
Speaker 1: probably millions, including some people close to Magic. In fact,
Speaker 1: behind the scenes there was conversation in USA basketball circles
Speaker 1: about well, should we welcome Magic back with open arms?
Speaker 1: Is it safe? Is it okay? This is Rod Thorne,
Speaker 1: a key committee member. It was a death sentence. Um,
Speaker 1: you know what happens if he gets to open cut
Speaker 1: close risk. It was always an issue written about a lot,
Speaker 1: so Thorne said. There was much consulting with medical people
Speaker 1: and eventually the decision was made that Magic would be safe.
Speaker 1: But according to Clyde Drexe, it was never far from
Speaker 1: anyone's mind. In other words, there were times, according to Drexler,
Speaker 1: when people took it easy on Magic. Now that was
Speaker 1: certainly true in the All Star game. But you know,
Speaker 1: defense is not the watchword of that day anyway, and
Speaker 1: I doubt it was true by the time the Dream
Speaker 1: Team was assembled. And it should be noticed that Clyde,
Speaker 1: who sometimes says things that he later regrets, was one
Speaker 1: of the staunchest defenders of Magic when he decided to
Speaker 1: return to basketball. If the doctors say it's safe, that's
Speaker 1: okay with me, Drexler said at the time. Now later,
Speaker 1: much later, after the Dream Team got back to the
Speaker 1: States with the gold medal, one member of the Dream Team,
Speaker 1: Carl Malone, had lots of worries about Magic playing. We'll
Speaker 1: talk about that in the final episode. But all in all,
Speaker 1: I firmly believe that when the history of the NBA
Speaker 1: has written, somewhere near the first page will be its
Speaker 1: contributions to HIV AIDS. Understanding the result of the resolute
Speaker 1: stand taken by Commissioner David Stern that we will be
Speaker 1: cowed by fear combined with the undying determination of Magic
Speaker 1: to keep on plan. Look, Magic didn't become the first
Speaker 1: famous person to live and thrive with the disease purely
Speaker 1: because of his will. Let's not go full out, Dr
Speaker 1: phil On this Magic had one of the great AIDS
Speaker 1: researchers in the world, Dr David Hoe, working with him
Speaker 1: and a dedicated personal physician in Michael Melman, and doing
Speaker 1: large part to Magic's efforts. Research grew by leaps and
Speaker 1: bounds in the months following Magic's alling himself. But it's
Speaker 1: just the fact that having a positive attitude approaching any
Speaker 1: disease is a good thing, and Magic was the ultimate
Speaker 1: and positive attitude. So let's get back to San Diego
Speaker 1: and the early days of practice for the Dream Team.
Speaker 1: The captain ship is pretty much figured out, but still
Speaker 1: think act roles are being determined, who leads on the court,
Speaker 1: who shoots, who screens, who passes, Who's in charge. Chuck
Speaker 1: Daily wanted to get them an action right away, which
Speaker 1: is what you do with pros. So USA Basketball organized
Speaker 1: for a first class college all star team, the kind
Speaker 1: of team maybe literally the team plus Christian Lightner that
Speaker 1: would have been our Olympic team had competition not been
Speaker 1: opened up to include NBA players. So on the third
Speaker 1: day of practice, when the mass has made our Daily
Speaker 1: heard of Buffalo troop into practice, we could tell something
Speaker 1: was wrong. Remember, we could not watch what happened. Practices
Speaker 1: were closed we spent our post practice interview time trying
Speaker 1: to reconstruct what had happened, which usually wasn't much. But
Speaker 1: on this day June, something had happened. Some of these
Speaker 1: college players we've just got through playing against should be
Speaker 1: on this team. But that was Larry Bird's way of saying,
Speaker 1: we got beat by the kids. So, as it turns out,
Speaker 1: the Dream Team had a loss in the first game
Speaker 1: it played. Okay, not an official loss. There was no
Speaker 1: box score, no official wrap up, but the College All
Speaker 1: Stars beat the Dream teamers by a score of sixty
Speaker 1: two to fifty four. At least that's the most accurate
Speaker 1: score I've been able to piece together. Accounts very widely,
Speaker 1: as does the significance of the event. Bird, as I recall,
Speaker 1: seemed piste off. Jordan was piste off that day too,
Speaker 1: though for a different reason. Daily didn't play him in
Speaker 1: the scrimmage very much. And here's how two players, first
Speaker 1: Chris Mullen and then Charles Barkley evaluated that scrimmage years later,
Speaker 1: and I think I think it was more like the
Speaker 1: scrimmage for us in a World Challenge family. There were
Speaker 1: First it was early on, which was actually masked by
Speaker 1: and I worked out that way. It was perfect probably,
Speaker 1: and I do really After that an Badge was like, well,
Speaker 1: ship together, we're gonna be here, you know. And then
Speaker 1: from then on were better. We were kind of like
Speaker 1: just going through the motions and they were feeling like
Speaker 1: he was gay seven and they beat us. So we
Speaker 1: got together that night and the next day would beat
Speaker 1: him by let we see it would beat them. Feel
Speaker 1: like we've beat about third part point. We just started
Speaker 1: kicking and we wouldn't score anything where we just killed
Speaker 1: well maybe, but there was lingering concern, which was the
Speaker 1: way that the Collegians, particularly Bobby Hurley, the Duke point guard,
Speaker 1: who would have no doubt started on the non Dream
Speaker 1: team Olympic team, penetrated the Dream team defense well, to
Speaker 1: be specific, how easily he got past Magic, who was
Speaker 1: never the best one on one defender even in his
Speaker 1: salad days. It was after that scrimmage of Daily and
Speaker 1: the coaches decided any speedy guards in the Empics would
Speaker 1: be defended by either Jordan or Pippen in the next
Speaker 1: scrimmage with the Collegians. In fact, Daily put Jordan on
Speaker 1: Hurley and as Grant Hill told me, he could barely
Speaker 1: get the ball pass mid court. Then that was a
Speaker 1: harbinger of what Jordan would do to Tony Ku coach
Speaker 1: and Sharrunus Marchalonis in the Olympics. Those stories are coming
Speaker 1: up now at the front of the line of those
Speaker 1: who firmly believed there was nothing to worry about after
Speaker 1: the scrimmage loss was Mike seki U just wanted for
Speaker 1: one day the orchestrate. Whether we lost it or not,
Speaker 1: it was only a short twenty minute spring and to
Speaker 1: let that our guys know that you could look okay
Speaker 1: and how it was officiated and hardly said a word
Speaker 1: there in that scrimmage. Chuck was So everyone left San
Speaker 1: Diego and fairly good spirits on route to Portland for
Speaker 1: the Tournament of the Americas. The United States Sea had
Speaker 1: to qualify for the Olympics due to its third place
Speaker 1: finish in Like most of the reporters following this crazy circus,
Speaker 1: I was looking forward to Portland's great city, nice bars,
Speaker 1: good restaurants, and we would at last get to see
Speaker 1: this team in action. And we're the dream team members
Speaker 1: that excited. Well for them, it would be nice to
Speaker 1: actually start playing. But Portland's also proved to be the
Speaker 1: first time when we really saw how much business and
Speaker 1: marketing and the pursuit of the dollar had to do
Speaker 1: with this whole thing, and Michael Jordan's for one, would
Speaker 1: not be happy. Thanks for listening and I'll see you
Speaker 1: for episode five. If you enjoyed The Dream Team Tapes,
Speaker 1: please follow, rate, and review wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: The Dream Team Tapes is written and hosted by Jack mckellum.
Speaker 1: It executive producers Mark Francis and Scott Waxman, Executive producer
Speaker 1: for I Heart Media, is shown to Turne. The Dream
Speaker 1: Team Tapes is a Diversion Podcasts original series in association
Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.