The word "dominant" is frequently thrown around in today's NBA when discussing the league's most prominent stars, but when push comes to shove, especially in the playoffs, all those 40-point games and highlight dunks fade into a distant memory, as the supposedly most dominant players fold under pressure.
The difference is, and in the true sense of the word, the most dominant players in the world rise when the stakes are the highest, and that's exactly what Jamal Mashburn saw from Michael Jordan during Dream Team practices ahead of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Mashburn made an appearance on the Knuckleheads podcast, and shared how Jordan made the best players in the world look miniscule in the shadow of his greatness.
"The 92 Olympics, that's when I saw the difference between Michael Jordan and all of those other Hall of Famers. When you watched the Dream Team play and they scrimmaged amongst themselves, if you didn't know anything about the game, you'd say, a 'yo, that bald black dude, he's the best player'. He made them look like they were high school players and he was in the pros, that was the gap. He was that great," he recalled.
Mashburn's rare feat
It's not widely discussed among inner NBA circles, but Mashburn and a select group of elite college talent played multiple scrimmages against the Dream Team as tune-up games for the Olympics and, incredibly, remain the only team that ever beat the star-studded squad in a real contest.
It acted as a timely wakeup call for the 1992 roster, who used the lessons to ground themselves before taking on the world.
Given his exposure to the national setup during that period, Mashburn's recollection of watching MJ in practice holds significant weight as one of only a handful of players who bore witness to the legendary practices the squad participated in.
A giant among legends
We have to remember that we are talking about a roster that collectively had 11 Hall of Famers, 23 NBA championships, 15 league MVPs, 11 Finals MVPs, eight of the top 50 scorers of all-time, and 117 All-Star appearances, and Jordan still stood head and shoulders above them all.
The 1992 summer was pivotal for MJ, who used Team USA to prove he was undoubtedly the best player in the world. He snatched the mantle from the likes of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and represented a changing of the guard.
It's one thing to dominate far inferior opponents in the regular season, but it's a whole different level when you're dominating the best talent in the world.
Given Mashburn's recount, it's evident that the gap between Jordan and the rest of the roster was visibly substantial to say the least.
Related: “Didn’t I just kick your ass?” — Clyde Drexler went through an entire Dream Team practice in two left shoes
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