By Michael Patton
NABJ Black News & Views
Players for Olympic teams were once exclusively amateurs and had not entered the professional ranks. Sometimes winning a medal worked out well for the United States and at other times, it did not. Eventually, a plan was put together for NBA players to participate in the Olympics.
On Sept. 21, 1991, that plan was set in motion. On that day, the United States announced the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympic games. Greats like Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were on that team along with David Robinson, Scottie Pippen and Patrick Ewing. They dominated the entire competition in the Olympics on their way to winning the gold medal that year.
