Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal praised the ‘honour’ of playing at home

The concept of Dream Team started in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games, when the United States national squad brought together the biggest NBA (National Basketball Association) stars. Playing together, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird – to name a few – started a new era in world basketball, winning the gold in an overwhelming way.

In Barcelona, the Americans most ‘difficult’ victory came in the final. The result? 117 to 85 over Croatia. After losing the 1988 Seoul Games, the United States were back on top of the basketball world and sent a clear message that all they needed to be the best in the sport was their will.

Four years later, success again. The team that played at home in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games had some of the stars from 1992, added to some of the next generation. The result was the same. The title came after six victories, the tightest by a 22 point difference. Brazil, led by Oscar Schmidt, highest scorer of that edition of the Games, with an average of 27.4 points per match, faced the second Dream Team and lost by 23 points: 98-75.

Small forward Grant Hill was among the new stars, as well as centre Shaquille O’Neal, today two retired American basketball legends. At the time they were 23 and 24 respectively, and Hill and O’Neal provided a sequence to the legacy started in Barcelona. They had the opportunity of winning the gold medal playing in front of their home crowd.  “It was one of the biggest moments of my career", recalls Grant Hill.

In an interview to brasil2016.gov.br, the two US national squad stars talked about the experience of representing their country at an Olympics at home. Almost 20 years later, they still have fond memories from that period.

Read the full interview with the NBA stars and gold medal winners in Atlanta 1996:

Competing at an Olympic Games at home is a privilege that few athletes have had. What was it like taking part in the 1996 Atlanta Games? What did it feel like winning the gold medal for your country in front of your home crowd?

Grant Hill: It was an honour and a privilege to not only play in the Olympics but to participate in your home country, there is a sense of pride that, my country was hosting the best athletes in the world. It was great, it was fun. I didn’t realise the significance of it until the medal ceremony, and walking out there at Turner Field with all the athletes from all over the world, that’s when it kind of hit me, wow, this is pretty special. It’s one of the highlights of my career.

Shaquille O’Neal: It was a tremendous honour to participate in the Olympics and we were all honoured to represent our country on our home court.

What do you remember the most from that year? What was the vibe like in Atlanta? What was the time spent with other athletes like?

Hill: The atmosphere was great. I think a lot of people from all over the world, obviously, but a lot of people wanted to come be a part of it, to experience it. Not just in terms of witnessing the sporting events and the great athletes, but all the festivities, it was a scene for a couple weeks in Atlanta like no scene I’ve ever experienced. It was celebratory.

 O’Neal: The atmosphere was terrific.  As a team, we had a lot of fun and really embraced the experience.

 Did you manage to watch any matches from other sports? Did you manage to experience the 1996 Atlanta Games a little bit as a fan too?

Hill: As a fan, I got a chance to watch on television, track & field and gymnastics, and the other basketball events; you want to keep up with the other teams that you’re going up against. To me, those are the sporting events I remember watching; following Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis was there, and Dominique Dawes.

O’Neal: I didn’t get to see nearly as much of the Games as I would have liked.  I was consumed with winning the gold medal.

 You won every match that year comfortably. Could you mention any moment that may have been more complicated or that stood out more during that campaign?

O’Neal: Not really any particular moment.  We had a great collection of players on that team and played incredibly well together.

On a team with so many stars, was it difficult to find time on the court for everyone? How was that managed internally by the team?

Hill: Everybody understood no one was going to play a lot of minutes. To me it was the most selfless group of superstars I’ve ever been around. Everyone supported each other. No one cared who started, how many minutes we played. It was just let’s go out and take care of business and have fun. Let’s put aside our egos and represent our country and get this gold medal.

O’Neal: No, we all got along well and knew we were there with one common goal — to represent out country and bring home the gold.

The 1996 team had 5 players from the famous Barcelona 1992 Dream Team.  Was it a big responsibility for the team to continue what they had started four years earlier or even more that, winning at home? What was it like being part of that team and accomplishing the goal? What did you feel like after the gold?

Hill: Even though we expected to win, and we felt like we were the best team, it still hits you like, wow, we have a Gold Medal. We are the best team in the world. We truly are world champions. It was a sense of pride and accomplishment. I don’t know if I appreciated it at 23 [years old] like I do now, but I was certainly very thrilled and excited.

O’Neal: We were proud of what we accomplished together and in front of our home fans only made it that much more special.

 In the long NBA season, many of you were rivals on court and were used to playing against each other. What were relationships like in the national squad?

GH: Everybody understood no one was going to play a lot of minutes. To me it was the most selfless group of superstars I’ve ever been around. Everyone supported each other. No one cared who started, how many minutes we played. It was just let’s go out and take care of business and have fun. Let’s put aside our egos and represent our country and get this gold medal.

O’Neal: We had great chemistry and came together as a team.  Nothing in the past mattered.  It was about what we set out to accomplish together as a group.

 Next year, hundreds of Brazilian athletes will have the opportunity of competing at an Olympic Games at home, in Rio de Janeiro. If you could give these athletes any tips, what would you say?

Hill: It can either be a source of strength or it could be a distraction when you’re playing at home. You think about the majority of Olympic sports, you wait four years for the opportunity, and it’s not like basketball and some of the other sports where every year you have an opportunity to prove yourself. A lot of times it can be one race that decides whether you’re a champion. So, I think you take it all in, take in the opening ceremony, enjoy the experience, but also understand why you’re there. Nothing is like being a champion and winning a medal in your home country.

O’Neal: Enjoy and embrace the experience, have fun, take advantage of the atmosphere and leave it all on the court.

Vagner Vargas - Brazil brasil2016.gov.br