Clyde Drexler & Original Dream Team Elected into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate
2009-08-12

USA TODAY
By Reid Cherner
August 13th, 2009

Clyde Drexler doesn't debate what is the greatest sports team in history. Why should he? He played on it. In 1992, Drexler and his Olympic basketball teammates would be known as the "Dream Team." The gold medal and dominance was assured by a roster that included Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin and Christian Laettner.

"Untouched and unscathed," Drexler said about the team inducted into the U.S. Olympics Hall of Fame presented by Allstate on Wednesday. "The only real problem we had was practice. We felt if we survived practice, the game would be a cakewalk. We just came out and did our job."

The U.S. team, the first to have pros, was coached by Chuck Daly, who won two NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons. "He was the perfect personality to coach that team," Drexler said. "We used to call him the Godfather. Nothing you did bothered Chuck Daly. He just wanted you to show up for practice and give it everything you had."

The team was 8-0 and averaged 117 points a game. Only Croatia came within 30 points of it. "I'm probably more impressed now," Drexler said. "You have a chance to see how kind history has been to the Dream Team. It was special because of the level of performance and us becoming the standard-bearer for all future Olympic teams."