Dream Team (47 page)

This book would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Dream Team members, all of whom I interviewed face-to-face. Anyone who has ever dealt with pro athletes knows that rounding them up is like herding cats … if the cats were millionaires with handlers, busy schedules, and global fame. But the process was enjoyable (in some strange way) and, more to the point, rewarding when I got to them. They were not easy to pin down, but, once I had them in front of me, it was their memories of, and passion for, this team that most colors the tone of this book.

I spent hours with several of them in their own habitat: a long Long Island breakfast with Mullin and another with Pippen in Florida; lunch at Drexler’s house; a tour of Spokane conducted by Stockton; a morning at his school with Robinson; a morning and afternoon staring at the taxidermied conquests in Malone’s Louisiana home; dinner and drinks (not too many) with Barkley in Phoenix—these are all pleasant memories that also bore journalistic fruit.

I hadn’t seen many of them in a while, but past patterns reemerged immediately. Jordan aired out some ancient grudges about
Sports Illustrated
, and Bird took one look at me as I waited for him by
his office in Indianapolis, and said, “What are you doing here? Thought you’d be driving around Magic in a limousine.” At least he didn’t say anything more … graphic.

There are many others who helped, and I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone, but four names stand out for their institutional memory about this team—Mike Krzyzewski, P. J. Carlesimo, Russ Granik, and Jan Hubbard. I went back to the well more than once with all four of them. Mike Wilbon, with a memory as sharp as his barbs on Kornheiser, was a great source during a long breakfast talk.

Pete Skorich, formerly a Detroit Pistons executive and the man who shot most of the Dream Team live footage, was of enormous importance. And a big shout-out to
Sports Illustrated
editor Chris Stone for encouragement, as well as to Mickey Steiner for editorial assistance.

My agent, Scott Waxman, and my editor, Mark Tavani, deserve tips of the hat, as does former Random House editor Paul Taunton and ESPN’s Steve Wulf.

Here are others who were generous with their time and memories, organized by the way I remember them. They are basketball and TV executives, Dream Team committee members, coaches, public relations people, print journalists, photographers, and players.

David Stern, Boris Stankovic, Rod Thorn, Dick Ebersol, Kim Bohuny, Rick Welts, Steve Mills, C. M. Newton, Harvey Schiller, Bill Wall, Tom McGrath, and Horace Balmer.

Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle, and Lenny Wilkens.

Jeffrey Orridge, Donnie Walsh, Quinn Buckner, and Charles Grantham.

David Falk, Lon Rosen, and Fred Whitfield.

Brian McIntyre, Terry Lyons, Don Sperling, Julie Fie, Josh Rosenfeld, Craig Miller, Nat Butler, Andy Bernstein, Florian Wanninger from FIBA, and Dion Cocoros and Paul Hirschheimer from NBA Entertainment.

Jackie MacMullan and Sam Smith, both of whose books are conjured up frequently in the manuscript, and, to the best of my
ability, were given fair attributional recognition. Also, I single out Bill Simmons, a much younger man than myself who is capable of writing much longer books and achieving much greater cultural relevancy. Also, David Dupree, my eternal courtside colleague, and Bob Ryan, the eternal “Commish.”

Grant Hill and Bill Laimbeer shared their very differing experiences with the Dream Team, as did, with considerably more reticence, one of my all-time favorites, Joe Dumars. (This is the time to point out that Laimbeer and Dumars’s erstwhile Detroit Pistons teammate Isiah Thomas, a non–Dream Teamer who is a big part of this story, declined my request for an interview.)

Of the international players, Dirk Nowitzki (well, he’s more a Dallas Maverick these days), Sarunas Marciulionis, and Juan Antonio Orenga were terrific and candid, and Toni Kukoc also gamely offered his thoughts on the night that he got legally assaulted by Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan.

Two people who were close to the Dream Team died as I was finishing this manuscript—Matt Dobek, who was a friend of mine, and Dave Gavitt, without whose steady diplomacy there might not have been a Dream Team, at least not in the form that finally transpired. I had already collected their thoughts and memories, and I remembered them often as I wrote these words.

Chuck Daly died before I began the project. Over the years we had talked often about his Dream Team experience, and I could feel his steady presence throughout.

Dave Gavitt (left) with Boris Stankovic, the real force behind NBA players being eligible for the Olympics.
Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

The
Sports Illustrated
photo that launched the name “Dream Team.”
Theo Westenberger/Getty Images

Chuck Daly (second from right) had some advice for his assistants (from left) P. J. Carlesimo, Mike Krzyzewski, and Lenny Wilkens: “Learn to ignore.”
John W. McDonough/Getty Images

Michael Jordan—attempting a shot as Isiah Thomas (11) defends—had always claimed that he had nothing to do with Thomas’s exclusion. But he says now that he made it clear he wouldn’t play if the Pistons captain, a bitter rival, was on the team.
Walter Iooss Jr./Getty Images

Jordan sometimes resented Magic’s refusal to cede the position of lead dog, but together they commanded the Dream Team.
Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

At a dinner in Monte Carlo, Prince Rainier is flanked by the Dream Team princes.
Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Johnson and Bird became so linked as icons that it is often forgotten they were bitter oncourt rivals, particularly early in their careers.
Manny Millan/Getty Images

The saviors of the league, Larry and Magic, will forever be bound together.
Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

The Dream Teamers stole the show at the opening ceremonies, and the USOC wasn’t happy about it.
Bill Frakes/Getty Images

The games were blowouts, but Charles Barkley’s competitiveness never waned.
Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Quite often, there wasn’t much to say during time-outs, but the team never tuned out Daly.
Manny Millan/Getty Images

Barkley’s unique inside game made him Coach Daly’s go-to guy, to the extent that the Dream Team needed one.
Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images