OT: Whitlock: The 92 Dream Team took on inferior white players because they were white
I happen to like Whitlock's iconoclastic nature, but I don't always agree with him. Until someone gives me a better explanation for the odd inclusions of Mullin, Stockton, and Laettner over far better and more accomplished players, this one is worth bringing up for discussion.
I definitely agree that basketball reasons hold no weight. Better and more accomplished alternatives were available for the skill sets these three brought.
If it was purely present basketball ability, Bird stays home because he was as good as done at that point. Piston fans will recall that Isiah torched Stockton at the Palace for around 40 after the snubbing proving he still was great to elite in the latter stages of his career.
No "Chuck Daly picked the team" either. Because he didn't and the documentary proved that with the promise to Jordan to exclude Isiah.
I tried to keep a balanced perspective reading the article. Of the white players on the team, John Stockton and Larry Bird were clearly elite players. Like even Whitlock conceded, Laettner took a spot reserved for a college player, and quite frankly, Laettner was the most dominant college player.
I will concede with Whitlock that Mullin was a terrible pick. Whether race was involved or not, how can one determine that? Such a difficult thing to prove one way or another. Either way, I've always thought that Chris Mullin is overrated.
Still, I found it interesting to think about.
Jason Whitlock rubrick for good opinion piece:
1. Find recently popular topic
2. Find hot button issue within the topic
3. Frame it as a black vs white issue
4. Say nobody will admit it, but they all thought about it
5. Print
In all seriousness, you're part of the problem. Liking Jason Whitlock is some sort of offense against sportswriting. This was typical of his work: provocative race-baiting with practically no merit to his arguments.The other players have already been well addressed in the thread, but Laettner was really the obvious choice at the time for the college spot. Shaq was definitely not as good a player in college. He went #1 in the draft because his ceiling was obviously higher. That would be a very poor reason to put him on a team that was going to play that summer.
I have to disagree about Laettner clearly being a better college player than Shaq. Shaq averaged more points, rebounds and blocks per game in 1991-92 than Laettner did. He was an absolute monster at LSU; he just didn't have much help.
Having said that, I think Laettner was a justifiable pick because he brought more versatility to the table. Shaq was strictly a 5 while Laettner could play either post position, and had a faceup game.
"The Dream Team was color coordinated. No one will talk about it publicly. But I can guarantee you it’s bitched about privately."
So, I take this as an admission that what is going on in this article is essentially weird theorizing, as he is basically saying, "Just take my word for it.". Sorry, I don't.
Like others, to me this sounds like baiting - it's one thing to debate who belonged on the team based on individual strengths and achievements, but going here makes no logical sense, much like the article itself.
Really though, I think Jason Whitlock might be one of the few people in the world that would turn the fundamental theorem of calculus into a race issue.
Whitlock is an idiot. I'm not even reading the article and I could swat all of his arguments away like gnats.
John Stockton deserved to be on that team. He led the league in assists and steals that year. Also at that point, he had led the league in assists 5 straight years in a row. On a team full of scorers you need a couple guys who can pass the ball, and the two best at that time were Stockton and Magic.
Bird got on the team as a career achievement, and if you're going to complain about Bird, you also have to take issue with taking a retired guy who didn't even play basketball in over a year (Magic).
This is beside the fact that Bird averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7 fucking assists that season. While having shooting splits of 46.6%fg, 40.6%3pt, and 92.6%ft. All of that, "on his last legs." Holy shit.
Laetnner made the team because they usually try to take a college guy, and he had the best season that year. I wouldn't have had him on the team, but at the time everybody assumed he was the next big thing.
Mullin made the team because they needed another shooter, oh, and he was third in the league in ppg that year (25.6). It was also the fourth year in a row where he average more than 25 ppg. He wasn't just some scrub white guy. He put up Kobe numbers for about 5 or 6 years in a row. Guys like Reggie, Hardaway, Rodman, and Richmond did not deserve to make the team over him.
This is totally ridiculous.
Great work and I couldn't agree more
Hey! Look! Keys!
If Isiah was snubbed because of race...why was it Mullen that made the team over him? Thomas was better than at least 2-3 of the black players on the team...why weren't one of them snubbed and Isiah put on the team?
Whitlock: Joke, disgrace, embarrassment.
I believe Yost knows that. He's just poking holes in Whitlock's "logic"
I wish this Drea Team bullshit would just stop. People forget how great Mullins was. Like TheLastHoke said he was avg 25+ for like 5 seasons at that point. You need shooters. In Fiba you need them even more. The team had a ton of slashers and that wasn't a need so Mullins filled perfect. Any idiot who thinks a bunch of basketball dudes sit around a table and say "now we need more white guys" is so caught up in race he should just stop watching sports. Not everything is about race and this wasn't either.
Chrsitian was picked because they wanted a college dude on the team and guess who was 2nd in command? Coach K.. Not to mention the dude was the face of college basketball. Shaq was great but LSU went no where.
Just stop this nonsense. The Dream Team was and is the best team ever created in sports. All the other butt hurts can suck it. Isiah didn't make it, he was an asshole ...life goes on.
Another thing. I have seen a few complain about Pippen being on the team. I have most the Dream team games on DVD. I just don't talk about it from memory. I have watched them in the last month. Jordan,Barkley and Pippen were the most dominate players on that team. Easy. Pippen was perfect for Fiba style of play. He took Kokoc to the woodshed and the rest of the world during those Olympics
Top 50 player and a dude who could defend the fuck out of anyone.
Seriously, anybody who doesn't think Pippen is a great player or didn't deserve to be on that team needs to STFU.
Did people not watch the NBA during the two years Jordan retired? Scottie almost single handedly carried them to the ECF in '94. They only lost, what, 5 more games minus MJ?
If anyone doubts how good Scottie was, look up his win shares, and defensive win shares. He's one of the best players of all time.
Go watch game 7 of that Pacers series during their last title run. MJ and Scottie put on maybe their greatest dynamic duo performance ever. That was just absolutely one of the greatest and most pure expressions of the will to win. It was unbelievable to watch them grab every loose ball, and come down with offensive rebound after offensive rebound.
EDIT: BOOM! Totally worth it.
Basketball in the 90's was so much better than what it is now!
P.S. No other sports theme will ever top John Tesh's Roundball Rock.
So. Jason Whitlock, a racist, is mad because other people also may be racist. Got it.
If it was purely present basketball ability, Bird stays home because he was as good as done at that point.
This is among the most ridiculous statements on MGoBlog, ever.
While Larry Legend played only 45 games during the 91/92 season he averaged a bit over 20 ppg down from his career average by about 4 points.
Indeed, he was all but done at that point.
That's NateVolk for you.
that Dominique Wilkins wasn't on the team...but I stopped watching NBA basketball from right after the Hawks traded him in '94 (idiots: they would have won it all that year) until the other day to see Juwan get a ring. So maybe I am biased in favor of the Human Highlight Film.
Jason Whitlock is a big fat idiot... 'Nuff said.
It seems everyone, including Mr. Whitlock, has missed what really happened here: Michael Jordan clearly hates black people.
Why are people so pissed over a little bit of reverse affirmative action?
ever since he was on the Ann Arbor News staff. I was sick of it then and I'm still sick of it. Whatever legitimate point he might have, it's always overshadowed by the way he pulls the race card. Besides, this shit happened 20 years ago. Time to move on.