If there was one point in basketball where it changed from being a beloved sport into a worldwide phenomenon, it was when the Dream Team won Olympic gold.
My name is Peter Max, and I love basketball and everything about New York sports. As I was reading about the history of basketball over the weekend, I came across a curious factoid. Before Michael Jordan’s rise to championship glory, the only thing that kept the popularity of the NBA intact was the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Had that rivalry not been covered much by the media, the NBA in the ‘80s would have been in all sorts of trouble.
However big a following the NBA had, it was mostly comprised of die-hard basketball fans.
Nowadays, even people who don’t know how to play basketball love watching the sport and buying the merchandise. Basketball sneakers, especially Jordans, sell as hot as any other shoe in the market.
This brings me back to the Peter Max point – it was the Dream Team that opened the eyes of everyone to the game. People from all walks of life found a team filled with legends blow every other team away, and they were okay with that. And with Michael Jordan’s ascendancy into basketball supremacy in the decades to follow, even more people became enamored with the sport.
Hello, my name is Peter Max. I’m currently based in California, but I was born and raised in New York. I’m pursuing a sports management degree, hoping to become a renowned sports agent in the future. For more sports posts and updates, follow me on Twitter.
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Image source: SportsIllustrated.com
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However big a following the NBA had, it was mostly comprised of die-hard basketball fans.
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Image source: Pixabay.com
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This brings me back to the Peter Max point – it was the Dream Team that opened the eyes of everyone to the game. People from all walks of life found a team filled with legends blow every other team away, and they were okay with that. And with Michael Jordan’s ascendancy into basketball supremacy in the decades to follow, even more people became enamored with the sport.
Hello, my name is Peter Max. I’m currently based in California, but I was born and raised in New York. I’m pursuing a sports management degree, hoping to become a renowned sports agent in the future. For more sports posts and updates, follow me on Twitter.
