Lenny Wilkens played an integral role in the first “Dream Team,’’ which included great NBA players such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and co-captains Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
The year was 1992, and it was the first U.S. Olympic team to feature active NBA players. Wilkens was the top assistant for coach Chuck Daly.
“The Olympic team hadn’t done very well, and the Europeans were at a position where they could really compete,’’ said Wilkens, who at the time was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At Seoul in 1988 with college players, the United States finished third, and the NBA at first wasn’t thrilled at the idea of participating in the Olympics.
Sports Illustrated came up with the name “Dream Team’’ and put a photo of the team on the front of their Feb. 18, 1991 issue.
The 1992 Games were in Barcelona and many wondered if a team with that many great players could learn to share one ball and check their egos outside the court.
“What happened,’’ said Wilkens, “Was the guys really came together. They wanted to show the rest of the world they could and we had terrific practices.’’
The only college player on the team was Christian Laettner, creating a huge controversy because Shaquille O’Neal was the top choice in the draft that year. The other six players on the team were Chris Mullin, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen and David Robinson.
The team blew away everyone, with the closest game being the gold-medal match with Croatia. Team USA won 117-85.
The team averaged 117 points per game, and the average margin of victory was more than 43 points a game.
Interestingly, it was Barkley who led the team in scoring, with 18 points per game.
“The good thing was the players knew there would be some games where other guys would play more than them,’’ said Wilkens, who would go on and be the head coach for the gold-medal winning team in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. “I really liked being around Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. I knew Michael from the All-Star games, and Larry Bird was a really good guy, and it really worked with Chuck Daly. He was one of these guys that spoke his mind, but he was a competitor and kept everyone loose.’’
The “Dream Team” is credited with upping the interest of basketball all over the world, and Sports Illustrated said that they were “arguably the most dominant squad ever assembled in any sport.’’
Magic Johnson said it was the greatest moment of his career and except for Laettner, the other 11 players have been elected to the Hall of Fame, including Wilkens, who said, “I have been fortunate to do a lot on and off the court and that was totally unforgettable.’’
