’84 USA team vs NBA stars

During the ’84 NBA draft Michael Jordan was selected 3rd overall by the Chicago Bulls. At the time, he was playing with team USA who was being coached by Bobby Knight in Bloomington, Indiana. During the trials, team USA had scheduled a series of games to take on the NBA stars. The USA team featured the likes of. They would go on to play the NBA players in 5 different games.

During the first game Jordan embarrassed the team of NBA veteran set by the league office. The NBA league took note and sent several all pro players like Kevin McHale, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird and Robert Parish. The Olympic team was led by college players Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Patrick Ewing, and Chris Mullin. The second game was far more intense as several pros took shots at Jordan, including Mike Dunleavy, who threw an elbow then commented Jordan wasn’t shit. Jordan then lost his mind, preceding to show the world what was to come. The next three games Jordan absolutely dominated the NBA team winning each game they played.

During the time coaching Jordan, head coach Knight initially thought “how could I start a two guard that can’t shoot. He eventually wavered to say that “ this Jordan good is going to be pretty good.” After team USA finished their exhibition series against the NBA stars, Knight said:

“He’s going to be the greatest player in the history of basketball”

Here’s MJ in a pre-Olympic exhibition against NBA Stars. This is a tasty display of his amazing career that would follow.