Les légendes NBA Magic Johnson (gauche) et Michael Jordan (droite)

The Dream Team is one of the most legendary teams in the history of sport.

However, it was complicated to convince Michael Jordan to join them for the 1992 Olympics.

So much so that Magic Johnson made him an incredible promise.

Right now, Team USA is involved in the Paris Olympic Games, and the American squad is surely one of the most impressive in history on paper.

But if we go back to 1992, we can find a more than serious competitor for this honorary title.

For the Barcelona Olympics, fans had indeed witnessed the birth of the Dream Team.

Obviously, the American selection had won the gold medal without much difficulty.

To tell the truth, when you count the greatest NBA superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird, everything seems easier.

In an episode of the show First Take in 2020, the Lakers legend recalled that it was, however, less easy to recruit the six-time champion.

Magic Johnson’s Crazy Plan to Recruit Jordan to the Dream Team

The only thing David Stern and Rod Thorn asked me to do was call Larry Bird and Michael Jordan to tell them they wanted Jordan to play on the Dream Team.

During the Olympics in Spain, the American team was aiming to make an impression. Michael Jordan had other things on his mind, however, so Magic Johnson had to rack his brains to convince him in 1991.

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I did everything I could to convince him.

I wanted to give him a million dollars to do it. But so far, he hasn’t changed his mind.

The former Purple & Gold point guard was ready to do anything to get MJ on this team.

At first, the latter declined each of the offers, but to the great delight of basketball fans, he ended up changing his mind.

The Bulls legend has always been driven by the desire to make history.

He finally understood that by going to Barcelona with his American comrades he would write one of the most beautiful pages of his career.

For that, we can thank his former rival. Because when the two were teammates, it gave rise to actions each more spectacular than the last.


Michael Jordan has always been a pretty narrow-minded person.

To the point where Magic Johnson’s offer of a million dollars left him indifferent.

Fortunately, the value of the ambition to make history with the Dream Team was even greater.