{"id":1161783,"date":"2020-05-04T14:48:40","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T18:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1161783"},"modified":"2020-05-07T13:25:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T17:25:57","slug":"toni-kukoc-and-the-forgotten-yugoslavian-team-were-one-of-the-main-reasons-the-dream-team-was-created-in-the-first-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/toni-kukoc-and-the-forgotten-yugoslavian-team-were-one-of-the-main-reasons-the-dream-team-was-created-in-the-first-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Toni Kukoc and the Forgotten Yugoslavian Team Were One of the Main Reasons the Dream Team Was Created in the First Place"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As millions of people saw on The Last Dance<\/a><\/em>, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and pretty much everyone on the 1992 Dream Team<\/a> put a bullseye on the back of Croatian phenom Toni Kukoc<\/a> at the Barcelona Olympics. Kukoc was seen as one of the best players in the world outside of the NBA and Jordan and Pippen specifically had an issue with him because Chicago Bulls<\/a> GM Jerry Krause seemed more concerned with getting Kukoc, who had been drafted by the Bulls in 1990, to the Windy City before taking care of Pippen's contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Jordan and Pippen may have never even gotten the chance to torment their future teammate had Kukoc not beaten down the United States for years playing for a country that doesn't even exist anymore. It's long been said that the Dream Team was created to showcase the brilliance of American basketball. In reality, it's because the U.S was tired of being outplayed by one of the best teams that the world has forgotten, the Yugoslavian national team that featured Toni Kukoc and a plethora of NBA talent that changed the game of basketball forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toni Kukoc dominated Team USA in 1987 for Yugoslavia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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