How did Michael Jordan

Question

It said that NBA players were only allowed to play in the olympics starting in 1992. Michael Jordan won a gold medal in 1984 with a US Olympic team didn't he? How does that work? Were those just college players on that 1984 team?

Answer 1

Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams. As a college player he participated, and won the gold, in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Jordan led the team in scoring averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.[75] In the 1992 Summer Olympics he was a member of the star-studded squad that included Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and David Robinson and was dubbed the "Dream Team". Playing limited minutes due to the frequent blowouts, Jordan averaged 12.7 ppg, finishing fourth on the team in scoring.[76] The team cruised to the gold medal, restoring the United States to the top of the basketball world. Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and fellow Dream Team member Chris Mullin are the only American men's basketball players to win Olympic gold as amateurs (all in 1984) and professionals.

Answer 2

In 1984 professional basketball players weren't allowed to play in the Olympics for the United States.  The 1984 Olympic team only consisted of college players.

Michael Jordan was on that team because he wasn't in the NBA yet.  He had been playing for the University of North Carolina, and had just been drafted by the Chicago Bulls.  But he still qualified for those Olympics because he hadn't started playing professional basketball yet.

All 12 players on the 1984 U.S. basketball team were amateur players at the time.  But then all 12, not just Jordan, went on to play in the NBA, with varying degrees of success.  They are:

Steve Alford

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Alfor...

Leon Wood

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Wood

Patrick Ewing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Ewi...

Vernon Fleming

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vern_Flemin...

Alvin Robertson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Rober...

Michael Jordan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jor...

Joe Kleine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Kleine

Jon Koncak

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Koncak

Wayman Tisdale

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayman_Tisd...

Chris Mullin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Mulli...

Sam Perkins

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Perkins

Jeff Turner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Turner

Answer 3

Sometimes it takes luck to do that.

He was lucky enough to be part of the team around the yr u said

Answer 4

he was famous back then so i guess they wanted him to play to see his skills

Answer 5

Yes M.J. did play on the 1984 olympics basketball team. He was officaly finished playing college basketball but had not started to ply pro-ball yet because the NBA season does not start until OCTOBER. Plus the basketball part of the olympics are played in the summer. There for M.J. was elegible to play.

Answer 6

Yes that team was college players or amateurs. Jordan was drafted in 1984, but since the Olympics are played before the NBA season players still maintained their amateur status because they do not start to get paid until the season starts.