Dream Team changed face of basketball – Bird

MANILA, Philippines - Despite all the NBA rings and accolades he earned in a stellar career with the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird ranks his stint with the original Dream Team in the 1992 Barcelona Games as among the best.

“They tried to duplicate that team all through these years but that’s a special team with special players, a lot of talent. It’s a great honor to be part of that team,” said Bird, who finally opened up and fielded questions yesterday after shying away from the media Tuesday.

Bird, whose other Hall of Fame teammates in the 1992 Dream Team were Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and John Stockton among others, said that the 1992 victory changed basketball forever.

“That 1992 Olympics changed the game. Everyone got better with better facilities and techniques. And that’s because of 1992,” said Bird.

The Dream Team swept its way to the 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medal.

Truly, the rest of the world closed the gap after 1992 with US finishing sixth in the 2002 FIBA World Championship right in Indiana topped by Yugoslavia.

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the US ended up with a bronze medal.

The 15-minute interview with Bird, the Indiana Pacers’ president of basketball operations, also proved to be a memorable one.

Perhaps most for a lady reporter, who wittingly or unwittingly started her question with the word “pressure,” prompting Bird to cut her before blurting: “Pressure? I don’t know what that is. Obviously, you’ve never seen me play.”

That’s vintage Bird, who won three championships in five finals appearances with fabled Boston Celtics of the 80s and owns the distinction as the only person in NBA history to have won an MVP, the Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards.