Why Dream Team II’s Players Chose to Play It Safe: Grant Hill’s Explosive Revelation

In the wake of the iconic 1992 Dream Team’s legendary triumph, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics saw another all-star lineup dubbed Dream Team II. Despite their dominance, cruising to a gold medal with an 8-0 record and an average victory margin of 31.8 points, this squad’s scoring was noticeably more restrained compared to their predecessors. Surprisingly, Grant Hill’s explosive revelation unveils a jaw-dropping reason behind this deliberate dip in scoring.

Why Dream Team II’s Players Chose to Play It Safe: Grant Hill’s Explosive Revelation

In a revelatory chat on the All The Smoke podcast, Hill disclosed a peculiar strategy employed by the 1996 team. According to Hill, players deliberately eased up on their scoring in the latter stages of games to avoid a grueling post-game ritual: drug testing.

“In the Olympics, it was no secret,” Hill revealed, “nobody wanted to be the leading scorer because you got drug tested. The only player who faced this every game was Karl Malone. It was Malone and whoever topped the scoring charts.”

Hill’s admission uncovers a startling truth: the team’s apparent selflessness on the court was partly motivated by a desire to evade drug tests. Players consciously passed up shots to their teammates, not out of a grand show of generosity, but rather to dodge the lengthy drug testing procedure that followed each match.

This inside scoop is backed by the stats. In the 1992 Olympics, Karl Malone was Team USA’s third-highest scorer with 13 points per game, trailing Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan. Fast forward to 1996, and the team’s leading scorer, Barkley, averaged a mere 12.4 points per game.

This statistic is no coincidence. The 1996 roster remains the only US Men’s National Team to feature a top scorer averaging under 13 points per game since the inclusion of NBA players in the Olympics. Despite their calculated approach to scoring, Dream Team II delivered a flawless performance, defeating every opponent and claiming gold on home turf.

Hill’s revelation sheds a controversial light on what might be viewed as an elaborate strategy to sidestep the stringent drug testing, adding a layer of intrigue to Dream Team II’s Olympic journey.