"You can play just 10 minutes a game" - How Magic Johnson convinced Larry Bird and Michael Jordan to play in the 1992 Olympics

Assembling the 1992 Dream Team wasn't as easy as it seemed. Michael Jordan , the best player on the squad, initially didn't want to join for various reasons. Meanwhile, Larry Bird was getting old and didn't feel he could contribute to the team's quest for gold.

Luckily for the Americans, Magic Johnson was able to convince Jordan and Bird to represent their country.

Magic's convincing powers

The 1992 Olympics was big for Magic as he had been cleared to play basketball after testing positive for HIV the year before.

And so the Michigan native tried everything to get the best American players to play with him. With a convincing pitch, he approached Bird, who was dealing with a back injury.

"Larry, this is a chance for our kids to see us play in the Olympics, not on the Boston Celtics or the Lakers," Johnson said . "You can just play 10 minutes a game. All I want to do is come down, do a no-look pass to you, and you shoot a three-pointer."

Meanwhile, Jordan didn't want to compete in the Olympics, given that he had already won the gold in 1984. He didn't feel the urge or need to represent the country again.

To lure the Chicago Bulls legend, the three-time MVP said he could play cards all night and golf all day. During the games, Johnson told MJ he could drop 30 points by halftime and then chill.

Ultimately, Magic's convincing powers worked as Bird and Jordan said yes. Together, they went on one of the most dominant runs in basketball history.

Related: Patrick Ewing on how good the 1984 Team USA was: "You look at that team; we could have beaten any team barring the Dream Team"

The Dream Team's ultimate goal

Johnson lured Bird and Jordan in for two main reasons. He wanted to bring home the gold and was focused on convincingly doing it. The Los Angeles Lakers guard knew that if he had Mike and Larry with him, they would blow out every team they faced .

"We have one goal and that is to win the gold medal but also blow everybody out and we did both [laughs]," Johnson said .

"It was amazing that you could bring that collection of players together when nobody thought we could play together. And we can go over in Barcelona [Olympics] and dominate," he added.

We may never see another Olympic run as dominant as Team USA's from 1992. If Magic hadn't used his incredible persuading skills, that might not have been the case.

Related: Michael Jordan on playing point guard for the Dream Team: "I told the players before the game I'm not Magic Johnson"