25/01/2025
Michael Jordan playing ping pong.
Larry Bird lying on the ground, drunk, surrounded by beer bottles and children's toys.
This incredible photo was taken during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the year of the legendary "Dream Team."
It seems that this photo dates back to the night before the USA-Germany game, the third match of the group stage.
Michael Jordan was challenging Charles Barkley to a ping pong match, with several dollars at stake. They played for over an hour until Barkley, exhausted and frustrated from losing too much money, gave up.
Larry Bird, on the other hand, had been drinking heavily with Patrick Ewing.
Ewing later revealed that throughout his career he had disliked Bird, but they became great friends during that Olympics. Bird, who had essentially retired due to his back issues, treated the Olympics as "a vacation with 18-year-old friends," spending every evening drinking together.
The next day, the USA-Germany game took place: final score, 111-68.
Larry Bird scored 19 points in 21 minutes with 70% shooting (the other 19 minutes spent lying face down on the bench, as it was the only position that didn’t hurt his back).
Jordan finished with 15 points and 12 assists, shooting 70%, without breaking a sweat.
Barkley scored 14 points in just a few minutes.
Ewing managed 4 points on 2/7 shooting.
Regarding this, Larry Bird said, "Well, Pat couldn’t keep up with my pace. And I’m not talking about basketball."
No, there will never be, in any sport, a more legendary team than this one.
