Lenny Wilkens tells how Magic Johnson incited Michael Jordan during lazy Dream Team practice
Much has been made about the original 1992 Dream Team and how competitive the practices were, considering the players probably knew weren't going to get much competition once the team set foot in Barcelona.
Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens, who was an assistant on the Dream Team, tells of one instance when practice wasn't going as planned, and head coach Chuck Daly was starting to fume at the lack of intensity.
"For a coach, it was a dream come true to have that kind of talent. And they were always ready. ... And they challenged one another."
"Guys were going through the motions, one time," Wilkens said to host Bob Kendrick on the Black Diamonds podcast.
Wilkens said he called Magic Johnson over to discuss the practice.
"We don't have to be here all day. We can be here as short a period of time depending on how we perform," Wilkens said he told Johnson.
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Johnson didn't need another word, telling Wilkens, "I got it, coach. I'll take care of it."
According to Wilkens, Johnson talked to a few of his teammates about how they were playing and then came to Michael Jordan.
"He started to get on Michael and that's all we needed," Wilkens said. "Michael went berserk."
Jordan's antics forced Daly to stop the practice, fearing that a team member would get hurt.
"We laugh about it to this day. I saw Magic not too long ago ... and he reminded me of it," Wilkens said.
Of course, the Dream Team, the first time USA Basketball used professionals in Olympic competition, steamrolled its opponents in Barcelona by an average of 44 points a game on the way to the gold medal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Magic Johnson prodded Michael Jordan at Dream Team practice
