NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 43 Sweet Dreams (7)

Klaus first knew about Kukoc when a scout named Leon Douglas recommended him. "He's an incredible kid," Douglas said. , Croatia or part of Yugoslavia) for such a white kid? "Because there was something special about him," Douglas said.Klaus asked again: What position does he play?Douglas replied: Defender.Klaus became more and more puzzled: Why do I need a white-skinned Yugoslav defender? "Jerry," Douglas said, "he's 6-foot-11." The remark intrigued Krause immediately, and he began scouting Kukoc, who soon decided he wanted him in hand.

In the 1990 NBA draft, Klaus selected Kukoc with the second pick in the second round (2th overall) and hoped that Kukoc could come to Chicago as soon as possible.Klaus always brags about Kukoc being good or bad, which annoys Jordan and Pippen.Jordan didn't get along with Klaus. He naturally didn't like people who Klaus liked.

On the other hand, Krause was very harsh on Pippen's contract extension because he wanted to save money to sign Kukoc.Kukoc was a big star in Europe, earning a lot of money, and in order to get him to Chicago, Krause ended up offering a higher salary than Pippen.This is even more fatal. The NBA has such an unspoken rule: You can insult a player, you can imply that he is worse than anyone else, but if you block his way of making money, you are asking for trouble.For Pippen, it was Kukoc who moved his wallet and blocked his money, so he hated Kukoc, who had never met him before.

Years later, NBA communications head Brian McIntyre vividly remembers Pippen saying that day: "I can still hear him say, 'I don't want Cuoco to Chi take my money, it's my money'!"

Where is Jordan?What is certain is that if Krause hadn't been involved, Jordan probably wouldn't have been in this muddy water, and that was just Pippen's business.But at this time, after Pippen won two championships with him, Jordan has recognized Pippen, regarded Pippen as a valuable teammate, and was willing to stand on the same front with Pippen.Now, Pippen wants to give Kukoc a little color, and Jordan is willing to help Pippen.

Krause once gave Jordan some tapes of Kukoc's game, and wanted Jordan to see how good Kukoc was.Now that Jordan took out those videos and watched them with Pippen, he was seriously studying Kukoc's weaknesses and seeing what they could take advantage of. “The time they watched the Kukoc tape,” recalls Malone, “you swing in front of Michael and Scotty a thousand times and they won’t bat an eyelash.”

On the day of the game, on the bus to the arena, Jordan and the magician sat on both sides of the aisle, and the two predicted the situation of the game as usual.Jordan said to the magician: "MJ, I think we'll lead by 20 points at halftime." The magician replied: "Just do MJ, we'll do it for you and Scotty."

Poor Kukoc, in the locker room, was still unaware of this "vendetta" aimed at him.Croatia just became independent not long ago, and the players felt sad about the war in their own country, and at the same time wanted to win glory for the country.Kukoc's wife, Renata, is about to give birth, and his son, Marin, is coming into this world in a few days.So Kukoc said: "In addition to the game, there are many other things in my mind."

Kukoc also doesn't recall what tactics the coach laid out in the locker room that day. "It was all 'play as hard as you can, try to be competitive, try not to be too embarrassing,'" he recalled. Team)."

Daly is happy for the team's active and full fighting enthusiasm.Jordan said to Daly the day before: "Scottie and I want to play more time." Of course Daley would not say "no", on the contrary, he was very happy to give Pippen more opportunities.In this game, Daly let Pippen start with Jordan, Magic, Barkley and Ewing.

Daly never told anyone which starting lineup he preferred, but privately, he knew his three most important players at the time were Jordan, Pippen and Barkley.Barkley is important because he can always score. No matter who the opponent is or what the situation is, the success rate of the offense is not affected by the touch of the outside jumper. Can easily score points.The key to Jordan and Pippen is because they both defend well and can take the initiative to attack. They are both scorers and organizers.Only in front of his confidants would Daly say the truth: "Give me Michael and Scottie, and who else is there, it really doesn't matter."

Pippen stuck to Kukoc as soon as the game started.Kukoc was able to find a way to move freely at first, throwing a nice pass, but that ball only infuriated Pippen and became Kukoc's only highlight of the night.At the other end, Daly called a rare singles tactic, allowing Pippen to single out Kukoc with the ball at the top of the penalty area. The other four players pulled away, and Pippen caused Kukoc to foul.

Throughout the game, everyone was creating opportunities for Pippen.Mullin made two great passes that allowed Pippen to dunk over Kukoc.At times, Pippen would face-to-face Kukoc from the backcourt, as if Kukoc was the rival who stole his girlfriend in middle school.At first, Kukoc would slap Pippen's hands off his body, and then Pippen prevented him from even wanting to do so.

Jordan was equally ubiquitous.Whenever Pippen was out of position and was covered, Jordan would make it up in time to pinch Kukoc.Jordan blocked a Kukoc layup and appeared in Kukoc's passing lanes several times for steals.In the first half, Jordan had an incredible 7 steals and Pippen had 4.Mullin later said: "Scotty and Michael chased Tony like mad dogs, almost to the point of forgetting the game."

Under normal circumstances, the Dream Team has nothing to say during the timeout, but in this game, Jordan and Pippen always reminded everyone: focus, focus.They were so emotional that Barkley, who got into trouble in the previous game, actually played the role of mediator.Once Kukoc was knocked down, it was Barkley who pulled him up.Another time, Barkley made a palm-down motion to remind his teammates to relax.

Some Croatian players later admitted that their original goal was to keep the point difference within 25 points.They didn't, and the Dream Team ended up winning 103-70 by 33 points.Kukoc only made 11 of 2 shots and made 7 turnovers. Pippen said after the game: "Tony Kukoc may be a good player, but right now, he is not in the NBA."

Kukoc would say years later: "That night, I had a bad game... well, shall we say, a very bad game." What's unusual about the defense: "I thought they guard everybody like that."

It's not all bad for Kukoc that Pippen and Jordan abused him like this. "I would take that as a compliment," Kukoc said, "or, at least, as a way to help me get into the league. I started off with the toughest."

The Dream Team players, as well as the staff around them, have always remembered that game so clearly that they even named it "the Kukoc battle."Ewing recalled years later: "They bit Kukoc really hard, and that was the best defense I've ever seen Michael and Scottie play. Until now. And they actually had a lot of good defense. " Barkley lamented: "Man, what they did to Kukoc...was scary. At the same time, it was beautiful."

In the first two games of the Olympics, the Americans won a total of 101 points.After that, the games of the Dream Team began to be the same. They always played for six or seven minutes, and there was no suspense about the outcome. The players, coaches, media, and fans gradually became numb.Therefore, after every big victory of the Dream Team, there must always be a bright spot to emerge, so that reporters can write game stories.

111 to 68 victory over the German team, Bird seems to be rejuvenated, scored a game-high 19 points.

127比83胜巴西队，巴西篮球传奇人物奥斯卡·施密特（Oscar Schmidt）终于有机会跟自己的偶像交手。数据显示出双方能力的差距：施密特出手25次才得24分，巴克利出手14次就攻下3 0分。

122 to 81 victory over the Spanish team, Stockton finally returned from injury, played 6 minutes, scored 4 points.

After finishing the group stage and entering the knockout stage, there is still no suspense.

In the quarter-finals, the Puerto Rico team was defeated 115 to 77. Mullin's precise shooting became the focus, and he scored 21 points.At this time, the dream team has reached the state of being able to do whatever you want, and Drexler later described: "It's like playing with your brother. You know you will kill him, so it just depends on what you want him to do." What a pain to taste."

After the Olympics ended, five members of the Dream Team averaged in double figures per game, and three others averaged over 9 points per game.No one on the team averaged more than 5.3 rebounds per game, but everyone grabbed some.The only astonishing statistic is Pippen's assists, which he sent 47 times in eight games, and he's not even a traditional point guard at all.Steals and fast breaks are the magic weapon for the Dream Team to open the score. Jordan has a total of 37 steals, Pippen has 23 steals, and Barkley has 21 steals.

In fact, in this team, no one cares about the technical statistics of Olympic games.The stats don't matter because the game feels right.Their own stats don't matter, and neither does the opponent's stats.For Dream Team players, the only way to measure yourself is to compare yourself to your teammates, to see what your teammates are doing, how your teammates play, and how your teammates cooperate with other people.

From Jordan and Pippen, Malone learned what it means to be highly focused."When those two guys lock on to their opponents, it's detached," Malone said. "The time they watched the Kukoc tape, you swung in front of Michael and Scotty a thousand times and they wouldn't even bat an eyelash." .”

From Malone, Pippen learned what it means to be physically prepared.Pippen said: "During the season, you can see Karl's physique, but until you stay with him, you don't realize that it is not accidental at all. During the Dream Team, I started to practice with Karl, it really pushed me."

From Stockton, Jordan learned the value of collaboration.Jordan said: "Karl Malone is a great player, but without John Stockton, he can't play. Karl is right-handed, John is left-handed, that's how important he is, and that's what some teammates are to others. importance."

From Jordan, Magic, and Bird, David Robinson learned how to be a leader.David Robinson said: "When I went to Barcelona, ​​Spurs were not a championship team, so what I wanted to learn was, to be a leader, to improve your team, what do you need to do? I took That mission and focus back to San Antonio. Of course, physically, mentally, personally, but those guys taught me that you have to take the same from everyone around you, and you have to ask for yours. Good teammates, otherwise you can't win a championship."

For Mullin, the dream team experience not only affected his basketball career, but also changed his life. "I didn't realize until years later that the Dream Team was a very positive transformation of my lifestyle," he said, "from where I was before (drinking) to being on that team...ah, Really helped me, beyond basketball."

Mullin remembers one offseason afternoon when he and Bird went to practice and the two sharpshooters compared their shots. "I bet Larry $10 a ball," Mullin recalls, "and it came up to almost $0, and I was ahead by quite a bit, and I hit the shot. I remember glancing over, and David Robinson had stopped. Not practicing, just watching us. I don't know what's going on, maybe I'm starting to slack off, maybe I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm kicking Larry Bird's ass'. But Larry started a little Chased back a little bit and said to me as he went, 'You know, I've never lost a match like this'. Finally, he tied and said, 'OK, that's it'. He threw the ball Give it to me, and go away."

Mullin didn't beat Bird, but he was smiling and in a very happy mood. "You know, before that... I mean, I knew I was a good shooter, better than most guys, but I always thought there were people who were better than me, and one of them was Larry. Of course he was better, That's Larry Bird. And that day, I tied him, even if I didn't really beat him ... that day helped me a lot in my career."

The family room at the Ambassador Hotel has gradually become the center of the dream team.According to the NBA's Kim Bohouny: "By the time the Olympics are over, no one cares what they look like. Flip-flops, big shorts, and maybe a couple of pajamas. Out there, you wear whatever you want."

The family room is located on the second floor of the Ambassador Hotel. It was originally arranged for gatherings of players and their families, and people from the NBA and the American Basketball Association often visit it.Generally, it is after midnight that the place becomes legendary. Most of the Dream Team players will stay for a while, playing cards, drinking, eating pizza, and it will soon be dawn.The regulars in the family room are Jordan, Magic, Barkley, Pippen, Ewing, they dominate the place.

On offseason nights, the poker game starts around ten o'clock.They played cards quickly, but not too seriously, and while they were playing, they could spare their brains to tease and humiliate each other.The championship is the magic weapon of Jordan and Magic.Whoever has won the championship and whoever has not won it deserves the humiliation of having won it.Malone and Stockton were spared, on the one hand because they were not so close to Jordan and the magician, and on the other hand because they didn't talk back-if you don't talk back, it's no fun for people to humiliate you-if Jordan knew What happened, if he knew that Malone and Stockton would lead the Jazz and the Bulls to the finals for two consecutive years, he might not be so kind to them.

Jordan's favorite target is Ewing. The two have been friends for many years, and they have a good relationship, and they can quarrel.Years later, Ewing would still accuse Jordan of cruelty, half-joyed and half-angry. "Michael never let me forget that I couldn't beat him," Ewing shook his head. "Michael never let me forget everything. From the first day I saw him when I was 17, Michael has been with him." I trash talk and he never stops. Hell, yeah, I never beat him, it bothers me. And every day I see him, I hear him say it. 'You didn't beat me in college , you didn't beat me in the NBA, you never had a chance, Patrick.' I'm going to hear that shit from him until I die."

(End of this chapter)