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Early in Michael Jordan's career, he had already proven himself to be one of the most athletic men in the league. Despite being an incredibly talented scorer, Jordan was unable to help the Chicago Bulls win an NBA championship. In fact, Jordan went six long seasons without winning one.
Although he and the Bulls made impressive playoff runs in 1989 and 1990, the team came up short of their ultimate goal. By the time Jordan won an NBA championship, it seemed like he was long overdue.
As the focal point of the Chicago Bulls offense, Jordan averaged historic numbers, including 37.1 points per game during the 1986 season. His first championship cemented his place as one of the league's best players. By the time they won their third championship, Jordan was already being talked about as one of the greatest players of all time.
Between his feats in the NBA and historic 'Dream Team' runs during practice for the Olympics, Michael Jordan was dominating the league.
However, Oscar Robertson isn't convinced. During a recent interview with Jackie MacMullen for "Basketball: A Love Story," Robertson said that his 1960 Olympic team was better than Michael Jordan's:
“The ’60 Olympics – I think we [are] sort of misplaced by the Olympic committee, by the ESPNs, the HBOs, and all those others, when they start talking about great teams. The 'Dream Team' [1992] had future Hall of Famers. So did this team.
“I don’t understand how they say that the 'Dream Team' were the greatest ever. All they did was play one-on-one basketball. There wasn’t even any resistance in a lot of the games they played. They wouldn’t beat us.”
You can see the trailer for the 20 hour docuseries directed by Dan Klores above. The ESPN production features 62 short stories embedded within 10 episodes that all feature a different focus point within basketball.
The 1960s Olympic Team compared to Michael Jordan's 'Dream Team'
It is important to note that the 1960s Olympic Team with Oscar Robertson was made up of amateur basketball players. While the 'Dream Team' featured the best talent in the NBA, the 1960 United States men's Olympic team didn't feature NBA superstars. There were no champions like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson.
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That year, Bill Russell, Bob Cousey, and the Boston Celtics had just defeated the St. Louis Hawks in the NBA Finals to claim an NBA Championship. Despite that, with the U.S. Olympic team comprised of amateur players, none of them were able to represent their country.
The U.S. team went 3-0 through the preliminary round and 3-0 through the qualifying round en route to an undefeated medal round that saw them claim gold. Back in 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined the team for their achievements.
Given that this was the first Olympic team to feature NBA players, it's easy to see why some consider it the greatest team of all time.
(Suggested Reading: When Shaq suspected Phil Jackson of using drugs)
Guess the Lakers players!
