Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever

I purchased this book thinking it was the definitive product on the market relating to the greatest team ever assembled. Truth is, it's not. While the book does give a lot of inside stories and tell you things you may not have known behind the scenes, it pushes more into the realm of an autobiography of Magic, Bird, Jordan, Barkley, and... if you can believe it... Isiah Thomas, who didn't even make the team.Sure there is a chapter here and there about Drexler or Stockton, but the majority of that information is how these players relate to the 5 listed above. There are nearly a dozen chapters talking about why Thomas didn't make the team and only one on Drexler making it as an add-on. You will wade through chapter after chapter about Magic and Bird and what their non-basketball lives were like to get to one chapter about the team playing basketball -- with a heavy focus on those two, Jordan, and Barkley.Maybe the author didn't get enough time with all of the Dream Team squad. From the writing, it certainly read that way. Or maybe he purposely kept to these 4 members so he can't speak about the others because he wasn't around them. Either way, there are many approaches to take when talking about the Dream Team and its 12 players; however, if you read this book you'll forget who at least 8 of them were and incorrectly assume Thomas was a member because there is so much focus about it.

The author of this book spent 30 years as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and it shows. His writing style is breezy, conversational. The book’s chapters are like articles, each one captures a particular focus. This style is both a major strength and a major weakness for a book. On the one hand, I felt like I was hanging out at some sports bar, cracking peanuts and soaking up great stories through small juicy nuggets. The throwaway details are actually the strongest parts of the book. However, on the flip side, the narrative also becomes a one-note repetitive journey. Each self-contained chapter makes for a long conveyor belt of sameness. There is little build. The book has some fun takeaways, but it was really difficult to stay engaged for more than a chapter or two at a time.

I was finally able to pick up Jack McCallum's Dream Team book which was published in 2013. I've looked forward to this for quite a while and snagged a used book through Amazon. The book chronicles the 1992 Dream Team which allowed NBA players to participate in the Olympics for the first time as a reaction to college players not winning gold in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. McCallum doesn't disappoint as he chronicles the forming of the team, the behind the scenes that made that possible, the marketing, international impacts and most importantly the players themselves. From who wanted to be on the team, to who was selected and why, their relationships and stardom in Barcelona that transcended the lives these players already lived. I love the back stories the behind the scenes goodies and this book delivered.About the only thing this book won't provide is detailed analysis of the games themselves but they don't deserver to be front and center. They weren't as important as the players and the stories. The one game that stands out the most when the Dream Team is brought up is a scrimmage the team had which pitted Michael Jordan dueling Magic Johnson. That was more important than the drubbing the team laid upon opponent after opponent. Bottom line is I loved this book. If you are an NBA fan of any sort this is an easy read. The world's greatest players were on this team. All, sans college player Christian Laettner, were future hall of famers and had either led the revival of the NBA (Magic Johnson and Larry Bird) or helped build on the momentum through 1992. But not only were they great players, many were great personalities. Some were exactly as I've known (John Stockton, Chris Mullin) but some surprised me some (Patrick Ewing). It was great getting to know these players on a different level. McCallum spoke to every player, coach, executive, competitor, or other writers who could bring the story more to life. And it came together wonderfully. Every NBA fan needs to read this book.

As an avid basketball fan and player, I loved this book. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has a love for the game. If you are not a basketball fan, this probably is not the book for you.Jack McCallum had the unique opportunity to ride along with the Dream Team through its wild ups and (very few) downs. His firsthand accord of what happened in practices, games, and locker rooms is fantastic. He obviously established personal relationships with most of the players on the team. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Christian Laettner and Scottie Pippen. His details about the coaching staff (especially Coach K) kept me itching for more. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a reporter, and McCallum perspicaciously soaked it all in.The writing in the book is very strong. His use of prose and varying sentence structure was refreshing. As a reader, you could tell this isnt the writer's first rodeo. The only thing I would change would be the length of the book. Certain chapters ran a little long, but didnt necessarily take away from the enjoyment of the book.

More than enough has been written, spoken and shown about the Dream Team. But this book captures the essence of what the experience was like to the players, the fans, the journalists, the invested and peripheral people and entities involved.The writing comes across as genuine and while there is most definitely a reverential tone in the pages that talk about Magic, Michael and Larry and a bit of the lovable goof with Sir Charles, there is also a realness to it....The fact that I refer to them all on a first name basis in the paragraph above is proof enough that the book engaged me and personalised many of the players involved and really make you as the reader feel that you are understanding these great athletes as people.

For those of you of a similar age as myself and a basketball fan, the players in this book are as recognisable as your own limbs. The collection of players bought together for this first professional US Olympic team was not only unprecedented, but in my humble opinion, as of yet unmatched.The memories of opponents lining up to be photographed with their NBA idols, point guards laughing as Jordan dunked on them and Angola taking the lead by a single point in the opening game, only to be steamrollered for the next half are still as fresh now as they were then. It could be said that this is the defintive book on the '92 team, but I can't help feeling that perhaps essays written by the players and interspersed throughout the book would have made this a slightly easier read.Just by assembling this team of superstars, many of whom are still heavily involved in the game, is an achievement in and of itself and must be akin to hearding cats, albeit millionaire superstar cats and for that he is to be heavily commended and I would recommend this book to anybody that watched this incredible collection of superstars play in Barcelona.

A very thorough account of one of the most significant and influential moments in basketball. As a 90s basketball junkie I hugely appreciated the detail, gossip and tying in of events in Barcelona with wider events in the basketball world. The writer has an adept gift for painting detailed, sympathetic portraits of his superstar subjects so you come away feeling like you've got to know these legends as people.

After watching the last dance this was a must read and like the last dance it didn't disappoint. I would highly recommend it

McCallum is a master writer anyway......but this book is just so entertaining. To read it again years later was just as enjoyable as the first time.JT

Great stories about fascinating athletes