Dream Team Gets Hall Fame, But Jordan Passes On Event
August 13, 2009: Members of the 1992 U.S. Men's Basketball "Dream Team," which won a gold medal in Barcelona, were back in the spotlight as a team when they were inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate on Aug. 12. Unfortunately, a "scheduling conflict" prevented Michael Jordan from attending, despite the fact the ceremonies were being held in Chicago, where Jordan won six NBA titles as a member of the Bulls, and that the event itself was supporting the city's bid to host the 2016 Olympics, which Jordan also has publicly supported.
Members of that prolific team who were in attendance at McCormick Place included Scottie Pippen (who also teamed with Jordan on the Bulls), David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullen, Christian Laettner and assistant coach Mike Krzyzewski (head coach Chuck Daly passed away earlier this year). Jordan's absence was confirmed by Mica Matsoff, who is a spokesperson for the Chicago 2016 bid committee. However, Jordan was in Chicago on Aug. 11 attending the Michael Jordan Brand basketball tournament for players 40+, which was a benefit for underprivileged kids, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The induction ceremony will be shown nationally on NBC on Sept. 5.
It was estimated that the Hall of Fame ceremonies raised about $5 million for the bid process. The IOC is scheduled to name the host city in October from a final four of Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.
Jordan also will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2009 that also includes David Robinson, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Walker. Indications are that Jordan will attend the ceremonies on Sept. 11, especially considering that Nike has funded a special Jordan exhibit at the Hall to coincide with his induction.
The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame class of 2009 inductee list: Michael Johnson (athletics), Picabo Street (alpine skiing), Teresa Edwards (basketball), Willye White (athletics), Mary T. Meagher (swimming), Sarah Will (Paralympic alpine skiing), longtime men's gymnastics coach Abie Grossfeld, skiing veteran Andrea Mead-Lawrence, special contributor Peter Ueberroth; and the 1992 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball team: Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton, head coach Chuck Daly and assistant coaches P.J. Carlesimo, Mike Krzyzewski and Lenny Wilkens.
Jordan, Bird, Magic, Sir Charles Earn U.S. Olympic Hall Of Fame Status