Malone: I'd choose Pippen over Jordan

Share

Wednesday morning's edition of "The Dan Patrick Show", broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, featured Basketball Hall of Famers Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and David Robinson, all members of the 1992 U.S. Olympic "Dream Team," as guests. A much-anticipated documentary about the Dream Team will premiere Wednesday on NBA TV.

Malone made a surprising choice when asked which member of the Dream Team -- other than longtime Utah Jazz teammate John Stockton -- he would have started a team with that included himself.

"I would have to start my team with Scottie Pippen," he said. "This is why I would take Scottie: Do you remember the time that Michael retired? I watched Scottie Pippen when the Chicago Bulls weren't really good and Scottie led that team in every statistical category, and I just remembered that. Plus, he's a guy who could care less about scoring. He wants to stop the best player on the other team. That would have been pretty cool, to see Scottie guarding Michael."

Robinson was asked about the reported admissions by former Bulls Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen that they didn't want Chicago native Isiah Thomas, the leader of the rival "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons, on the team.

"Didn't matter to me one way or the other. I heard all the talk. At the time, people were wondering whether Michael had something to do with it," said Robinson. "I didn't see it as a big controversy at the time. I still don't think it's a big deal."

Added Barkley: "I didn't care who was on the team...I know that Michael and Scottie didn't want him on the team, but I like Isiah Thomas. I've never had a problem with him.

"People forget I played on the second Dream Team, too, and the second Dream Team really sucked. We had so much junk going on, guys complaining about playing time, who was starting on the second Dream Team and I can honestly tell you this: On that first Dream Team, we never had any of that. I'm playing with the greatest team ever assembled. Everybody got along well."

The humorous Barkley also chimed in about the greatness of the team compared to the 1996 Olympic squad, saying: "'92 was the greatest thing ever, as far as camaraderie and everybody getting along, and in '96, I was like, 'You guys are kidding me. I played with the greatest team ever and you guys ain't that good.'"

His fellow all-time great power forward Malone, also a member of both teams. credited Jordan and Magic Johnson as being the leaders of the team.

"I would say the most competitive guys on the Dream Team were two: I would say Michael and Magic and the reason I say that is when we would do teams, they always had each guy on the opposite team, so the coaches wouldn't have to do anything but say throw the ball up and those guys always got everybody going," said Malone.

"I just want to see footage of the practices," said Robinson, who claimed he had not seen the documentary yet. "It was hard basketball, just everybody going at each other and talking, and everybody on that floor wasn't just competitive, but the ultimate competitor, too, so, it brought the best out of all of us."

Contact Us