Outstanding history of Boston.
Boston Celtics is the all-time best team in history of American sports. It
has won 16 NBA championship titles. All players who've ever played for the
Celtics share the opinion that there's something magical about the team that is
difficult to describe. Although the best years of the Celtics can only be seen
in pictures now together with its unforgettable record, one should always keep
in mind that the team is still a living legend, made by a single man Red
Auerbach. From 1946 to 1949 Red was a coach for the Washington Capitals. During
that time the Celtics averaged 1 win of 3 games played.
The club's owner, Walter
Brown, had made probably the best decision in his life by obtaining Auerbach to
lead the club to its greatest success. Although the statistics were greatly
improved nobody could realistically think about the NBA Finals. The 20th
April 1956 would change the Celtics and the entire league for the next several
years. Auerbach traded Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagen to St Louis for NBA draft No
1 pick, who would become the greatest player in NBA history.
Bill Russell with
No 6 on his jersey would become a stronghold for the new undefeatable Bostonian
team. This wonderful trade made the Celtics dominate the entire league for years
to come. Up to this day, Auerbach is considered to be the NBA all-time greatest
coach. He let the Celtics to 9 NBA Championship Titles including 8 consecutive
from 1958-1966. In the 70s he was lucky enough to sign a contract with Dave
Cowens and most of all with Larry Bird, the NBA-best white player. As Bill
Russell was Auerbach's key player in the 50s, people should also remember an
excellent forward Bobbie Cousy, whose fantastic passes could sometimes defy
gravitational laws. It was he who popularized the spectacular gestures used
exclusively by the members of the Harlem Globetrotters. He started in Boston
after winning his NCAA Championship Title. In the NBA he put on his championship
ring 6 times, in 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1961, and 1963 respectively. One could
go on naming all his records but it would be unseemly to omit one, he led the
league in assists. On the 27th February 1956 in the game against The
Lakers, Cousy had 19 assists only in the first quarter (which is an incredible
achievement, hard to beat even today). After signing Russell, the Celtics got to
the NBA top. For the defense he was like an avalanche impossible to stop.
William Felton Russell (his real name) was born on the 12 February 1944 in
Monroe, Louisiana. This 6-10, 220 lbs player stayed with the Boston Celtics from
1956 to 1969. Like Jabbar, Chamberlain, and Jordan he was a record collector; 5
MVP awards in 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, and1965. He'd held an incredible
32-rebounds record in the 1st quarter, set in 1967 during the game
against Philadelphia. The 9-time Championship winner became the 1st
black coach in history of the NBA. In 1969 the aging team ignited by Bill
overcame the Lakers with the fantastic victory, which would be the last battle
of Russell and Chamberlain. This closed a chapter in the club's history to open
a new one. With freshly obtained Dave Cowens the Celtics won another 2 titles in
1974 and 1976. Then a big slump, a slippery slope that nobody ever expected. In
1979 the Celtics finish with only 29 wins but Auerbach would find a way to
regain the world's best team title. The new driving force was called Larry Joe
Bird. Thanks to this move during the 1979-80 season the Celtics squad get to the
finishing line with 82-61 record, but lose in the Playoffs. The Championship
dream would have to wait for another year, since in 1981 Larry and his team
would win the title. Larry had one the NBA Championship for his team 3 times in
6 years (1981, 84', 86'). He'd won 3 NBA MVP trophies in 1984, 85', 86'. After
13 years and a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona he retired. He
worked in his home state Indiana and what he did, he did it well to. Although he
never won the NBA Coach of the Year award but he came down to history of the NBA
as an outstanding coach and player.
What is happening with the Boston Celtics now? This entire history has been
made at Fleet Center but not a single young player of today can compare with the
legends who've brought the team into the NBA Pantheon.
Everyone wanted to have Dream Team's gadget. What can you, or what should you
write about the Dream Team? I will try to write the story from the moment it all
started. In the USA in the 70s the professional basketball looked like a bunch
of players whose only interest were drugs and strikes. The American basketball
was considered a game of individuals, because each game looked like a duel
between 2 players. There was no teamwork in the defense and offense.
Individualism was prevailing over the play of an entire team. With the advent of
the players like Larry Bird or Magic Johnson the game went through radical
change. It was these players who brought back the long lost popularity of the
game at home. I don't have to add that the greatest popularity indicator in the
USA is the number and time of TV spots. Of course the NBA Finals were not
broadcast in prime time but late at night at about 11.
It was all immediately changed with the appearance of Larry Bird and Magic
Johnson. The show that the 2 brought in to the American public was guided by its
own special rules and made it to the prime time of all American broadcasting
stations. The popularity ratings were surprising even to the NBA officials. Most
European countries, Japan, Latin America applied for TV transmission of American
basketball. Almost the whole world was watching the birth of the Dream Team.
People have said a lot of things about the Dream Team but the most frequent
opinion voiced is the thrilling experience that it provides the observers with.
Today nobody can undermine this opinion. The reason for that was the combination
of 2 different basketball generations. At the very top the 2 greatest "oldies",
Bird and Magic, were unquestionable team leaders. Further down the line the path
was paved for "the middle-aged", meaning the players whose record before
Barcelona was much greater than any players owner his lifetime - Michael Jordan,
Scottie Pippen along Chris Mulin, Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Carl Malone,
John Stockton and Patrick Ewing. With the young at the very end, including
Christian Leattner and David Robinson, bolstering the greatest basketball team
ever existed.
Before the Barcelona Olympic Games the official of the International Olympics
Committee, the NBA, and the US Basketball had managed to persuade the FIBA as to
admitting pro basketball players to the Olympic Games. As a result, basketball
has never been so much talked about as then. The 1988 3rd place in
Seoul was a haunting memory that would stay with American fans. The American
basketball needed such a promotion to revitalize old fans and draw in the new
ones. Michael Jordan put it like that, "the basketball was born in USA and we're
going to Barcelona to show the whole world what we can do". This statement
contains the bitterness of the 2 lost games in 1972 and then 88'. "We're going
to Barcelona to get the gold back to America so it will never leave us again",
Bird said. It seemed that the previous defeats had not been an easy thing to
swallow for the American players for a number of years that's why this team was
called "a revenge".
Just one year prior to the Olympic Games in Barcelona the first decisions had
been made about coaches. Chuck Daly, who had led the Detroit Pistons to its 2
championships, was named Head Coach. Lenny Wilkins, while working for Cleveland
he had a record breaking number of wins – 800, was selected as the second coach.
They were accompanied by 2 university coaches P.J. Callesimo and Mike Krzyzewski.
They all were to select 10 players, applying criteria that even today seem to be
abstract. Their choice came down to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird who enjoyed an
excellent NBA record and great popularity. In the 70s a popular basketball
player meant a good basketball player. The officials could not omit Larry Bird,
whose career was coming to an end. During a regular season he made his
appearance only in half of the games due to his back injury. Nobody then and
today could imagine the Dream Team without Magic Johnson, who several months
before that made his announcement about leaving the game spurred by his HIV
infection.
Many well known and outstanding players were not selected or decided not to
appear, which prompted a lot of speculations in the media. The most known of
them was the alleged conflict between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. Both
players didn't like each other, which was most visible during their games
between Chicago and Detroit. The situation got even more complicated when the
information surfaced that Magic and Thomas were good friends and coach Daly had
been coaching Isiah's Pistons. Jordan came out the winner of this battle. I
think that another name should be mentioned here, which is that of Denis Rodman.
Denis had not been selected due to his eccentricity. He stood a very good chance
of going to Barcelona but Drexler's antipathy for the man had prevailed. This
was a good example of how popularity could win over the skills. I'm not saying
that Jordan and Drexler were any worse players but they used their position to
get rid of the players that they didn't like. In other word the Dream team could
have looked quite different than the one that went to Barcelona.
Before the Olympic Games many people were wondering whether such a great
number of stars on one team would not have a bad effect on the whole team
itself. The first control games blew those speculations away. Even coach Daly
complained about too much of a team play on their part. Michael Jordan said,
"I'd rather burn in hell then get back on someone. My dream is to become a team
a member and let Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, with whom the game is the
pleasure, lead us". People started to joke that somebody should start shooting
baskets because everybody kept passing the ball and probably they all hoped to
get the Most-Assist Award.
The mood among the team members was excellent. Everybody had brought
something in. Johnson as well as his colleagues talked about the teammates with
great enthusiasm, "... I'm feeling OK with everybody here. They all real friends
at the court and a locker room. I'm even getting built up by Michael and
Barkley's arguments at the hotel that I'd like to play again next year...". It
was obvious that Dream Team would crash everyone on its way, winning all games
with ease, but its members went into each battle fully focused and with respect
for their opponents.
The joy after victory.
Before the 1st pre-Olympic game, Bird confessed that "he started
to shiver while listening to the American anthem and all the members are feeling
equally excited as before the NBA Finals".The final scores were shocking even
for the players themselves. For instance, the Dream Team outscored Cuba by 79
points. Team leader Larry Bird had announced after this victory, "In Barcelona
we can have more difficult games and each of them will have to win by at least
20 points, because we want to avoid the final 3 pointers". The same concern was
shared by the coach who knew that the last American medal had been won at the
1986 World Championship in Madrid, with no significant success afterwards. In
1987 during the Pan American Games American college league caved in to Brazil
finishing at 120:115 in Indianapolis. I don't have to comment on the shock of
American audience watching that defeat on their hometown parquet. The same year
during the Junior World Championship taking place in Bern, Americans were
humiliated by Yugoslavia. The following year brought yet another disappointment
in the semifinals of the Olympic Games in Seoul the American team lost to an
everlasting rival Russia. The next 2 years didn't satisfy basketball fans and
players either. First in Mexico (1989) they were defeated in the Finals of Pan
American Games in Puerto Rico. In the 1990 World Championship in Buenos Aires
they took the bronze. That was not the end. In 1991 at yet another Pan American
Games, Americans were beat by Puerto Rico and Mexico. After so many defeats,
Daly knew that he could not disappoint the US fans again.
To win the gold medal at the Olympic Games, Daly knew that he must focus on
the team and not individual great stars. (As absurd as it may seem, many players
like Drexler or Robinson had not been ranked so high before Barcelona). Daly
wanted to make more use of The Admiral. This player was one of the most
important names in San Antonio team taking there 21 up to 56 wins in the 1989-90
season. Robinson more than anybody else wanted to win the gold. Another NY's
center had quite different priorities. He had won the gold before during the
Games in LA winning over Spain in the Finals. King Kong wanted to prove to
himself and others that he was capable to compete against anybody in the world.
(The Soviet Union, all communist countries of the Soviet Block, did not come to
LA but to Moscow as a protest).
The greatest surprise was the selection of Scottie Pippen, who was in an
excellent shape at that time. He averaged about 20 ppg, had quite a few assists,
rebounds and steals and was the most versatile player. "This is a guy whose
spectacular play will take your breath away", that was a comment from one of the
French reporters. Pippen comes from a low profile University of Arkansas, but is
an example of a player whose personal development went into the right direction.
Karl Malone was quite different. In the last 3 seasons prior to the Olympic
Games he was placed 2nd behind Michael Jordan in scoring. The Mailman
would have never scored so many points if it hadn't been for his Jazz partner,
John Stockton, excellent guard, selected to the All-Stars and the NBA-Best 5. He
was supposed to be on the 1984 Olympic team but coach Bobbie Knight had changed
his mind. He suffered an injury in Barcelona, which stopped his chance at
getting in the spotlight. Chris Mulin of the Golden State Warriors, another
white player on the team, was considered the most hard-working player on the
team. In the 1991-92 season he practiced 4 and 5 hours a day, and during the
Summer he hardly ever left the court. He was thought to be the successor to
Bird.
Barkley reading his interviews.
Another players on the team were Drexler and Barkley, two completely
different personalities. Sir Charles, one of the greatest rebounders in the
league was also a good scorer. All the squads that he played on usually owed him
everything. "The Big Mouth" as he was called did not waste time in Barcelona. He
was probably the most active interview giver of all the players participating in
the Olympic games. He said that he didn't like sitting in a hotel like Jordan
because he loved walking down the streets signing autographs. Drexler, on the
other hand, was quite different. Player who would become the NBA great star,
could sit without saying a word for the most part of the press conference. He
didn't like interviews and autographs. Like Stackton, he seemed to be frightened
but the moment he entered the court and got the ball he was impossible to be
stopped.
To create the Dream Team it was necessary to get the dream players,
outstanding personalities. The team composed of such fantastic guys gave an
excellent show in the pre-Olympics in Portland and also dazzled the people of
Monaco, playing against France next to the Ludvig II Stadium. Though players
like Bird had respect for their future opponents fans, not only in the USA, but
also in the whole world wondered whether the games would be spectacular.
All uncertainties were put to rest during the first Olympic game in
Barcelona. It was an eye-catching game and the Dream Team's first victim, that's
how you can describe the first game against Angola. Just 12 minutes into the
game, Americans won 40 points. In the next game the US was to meet Croatia, a
much stronger player than the last one. Like Lithuania, Croatia was one of the
favorites. While the US easily won it, the game had also different meaning.
Scottie Pippen got into a conflict with a Croatian player Kukoc. Before the
Olympic Games, the Chicago Bulls officials offered Kukoc a high contract.
Everything would have been all right if the proposed contract hadn't been better
than Pippens'. The American player wanted to show the management that they were
making the terrible mistake. When Pippen got onto the court he was as focused as
the Croatian star. During that game Kukoc scored only 4 points, got only 2 out
of 11 and lost 7 balls mainly as the result of Scotties guard.
In the 3rd game, the Germans did not play better than the
Croatians. They lost 43 points (111: 68) despite having the NBA No 6 Detlef
Schrempf on their team. In the same game Bird won 19 points. He replaced
Johnson, who sustained a knee injury during the game against Croatia.
Brazil was the wild card of the Games. The young player produced by this
country were very promising (you should remember that they won over the USA).
From the first buzzer the young Brazilians, although with no hope for the win,
went into the offensive. This, of course, did not lie very well with Charles
Barkley, who scored 30 points that led to a 127:83 American victory over Brazil.
The Spaniards, the last of the teams in the group, where easily butchered
122:81.
In the Quarterfinals, Americans met Puerto Rico, winners of the last 2 Pan
American Games. Compared to the previous meetings of the 2 teams the game was
rather uneventful. Magic got better and returned back to the game, leading the
team to a 115:77 victory. The Semifinals were even easier for the Americans. The
game against Lithuania, just from the very beginning looked like a one basket
slump dunk competition. The final 127:76 was not such a bad record for
Lithuania. They won the bronze, which was much precious to them than the gold
because they beat the Russian Federation to get it. In the Finals the Dream Team
met again the Croats, finishing the game with a 117:85 victory. Kukoc finally
had a chance to take out his big guns. He scored 16 points and became the team's
best power forward, thereby proving that he belonged to the same class of
players as Pippen. Another surprising player to be noticed was Peprovic, winning
24 points, which beat even Jordan. In the first 10 minutes into the game, all
Barcelona was stunned by seeing a 25:23 lead for Croatia, which in the end
turned out to be their last and only one. The Dream Team machine struck hard to
recoup the loss. Dream Team on the podium. The dreams of the Dream Team came
true, they became the Olympic Champions. The whole event was 10 days long, but
many people who saw it would cherish the memory of it for a long time. By many
basketball experts the Dream Team was compared to the famous Harlem
Globetrotters which in the 40s and 50s gathered many black players who couldn't
make it to the NBA. The Dream Team discovered the same idea of spectacularity
bolstered by power and dynamism. Nobody has ever built another team like that
again. It was in Barcelona where basketball was talked about more than anything
else. No other sports has ever gained such a popularity as basketball did during
those Olympic Games. The players who made it to Barcelona were each one of a
kind and the best in the world.
See also:
