The Scrimmage

“That’s the best game I’ve played in … The best.” - Michael Jordan

Think of all the great battles and heroic finishes that Jordan was involved in during his illustrious career, and recognize that the above quote refers to a 1992 Dream Team scrimmage in Monte Carlo.

Before the Olympics tournament started, head coach Chuck Daly was concerned about the level of intensity in practice.

To fix this problem, the Dream Team were organized into two squads: Jordan’s team included Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone. They went up against Magic Johnson’s team, with players like Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin and Clyde Drexler as running mates.

To this date, no video footage of this scrimmage has surfaced. But through first person accounts, the important details can be pieced together.

Magic’s team jumped out to a 14-2 lead, when Johnson made the mistake of trash talking Jordan, telling him to “get into his show” before the game got out of hand.

From Dream Team assistant coach Lenny Wilkens’ book “Unguarded: My Forty Years Surviving In The NBA”:

Michael’s team was down by 15 points, and he went right at Drexler, scoring time after time. He destroyed Drexler, much as he did in a couple of those 1992 playoff games. After he had his way with Drexler, other players tried to defend Michael. No chance. Not on this day.

Michael’s team won that scrimmage by two points. The guys wanted to play some more, but we decided to end practice. The last thing we wanted was anyone getting hurt. I always wished there had been a tape of that practice, because it was better than any of the Olympic Games, better and more intense than any All-Star game you’ve ever seen because it wasn’t for show.

It was for pride, and for the joy of playing hard at the highest level there is.

Posted on 19 March, 2012

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    Related Articles: Kobe surpassed...All-Star record The new… Stick Together Team, Let’s Go...
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    I have ALWAYS said I wanted to see those ‘Dream Team’ Scrimmage games…HAD to be some of the best games played…EVER
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