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might get to be in the Olympics. Back before our 1992 team was chosen, and nicknamed the “Dream Team” because it was full of so many big NBA stars, the Olympic basketball team was always made up of college players. The problem was that the Olympics were only every four years, so if you were, say, a sophomore in college in an Olympic year, and you were coming on but were not quite the player you were going to be, chances are you’d miss out, because the Olympic committee was going to pick guys who were at the top right then and there, usually upperclassmen. So by the time the Olympics came around again, you’d be in the pros. That’s pretty much what happened to me. I went to Indiana during the 1974–75 season, but left school before the basketball season even began. The following season, 1975–76, was an Olympic year. By then I had transferred to Indiana State, but had to sit out a year before I was eligible to play. By the time the next Olympics came around in 1980, I was just finishing up my rookie year with the Celtics.
    Like a lot of guys, including Magic Johnson, I figured the Olympics was something that just wasn’t going to happen for me. So in 1991 when I started hearing talk that they were considering adding pros to the competition, I didn’t pay much attention. I figured I was too old. By the time the Olympic team went to Barcelona, I would be thirty-five years old. Besides, my back was as bad as it had ever been.
    At that time Dave Gavitt was the CEO of the Celtics, but he was also president of USA Basketball. He told me they had been quietly working for some time with the NBA to make the Olympic team available to professionals. Nobody was sure whether anyone would be interested, but Dave figured if he could convince the best players to commit to playing, then everyone else would follow suit. Dave was smart. He went after Magic first, because at that point Magic was “retired” because he was HIV-positive, but was still itching to play. Magic said yes right away. Then Dave came to me and told me Magic was playing and they wanted me on the team. My first reaction was, “No way.” I told Dave, “Look, I’m too old for that. It should be a chance for some younger guys.” But Dave wouldn’t let it drop. He told me I was being given a chance to play for the Olympics, for maybe the best team ever assembled in basketball history. Then he started talking to me about the team spirit, and the fellowship and patriotism and all that. In the meantime, once the word got out that I had this invitation, the phone started ringing.
    It seemed like everybody I knew wanted me to go to the Olympics. They didn’t understand why I was hesitating. But the reason I was trying to get out of it was because I knew my back would be just awful, and I had been through enough pain. I just wanted to retire and forget all about basketball for a while. But all these people kept calling me and telling me I should do it. They all said the same thing to me: “You’ve worked your whole life to get to this point. You’ve earned this.” That might have been true, and I really did want to play, but under the circumstances I just didn’t feel I could do it.
    There was another thing bothering me. I wanted to make sure they wanted me for the team because they felt I was still good enough, not because they wanted me in some kind of honorary role. I never wanted to take a spot that I didn’t earn. I looked Dave Gavitt in the eye and told him, “You better tell me the truth. Do you want me because I can still play, or do you want me because I’m Larry Bird?” He looked right back at me and said, “Larry, in international basketball they play zone defense. How many guys can pass and shoot the ball like you?” He made a pretty good point.
    I thought about it some more, and decided I’d give it a try. Then Gavitt went to work on Michael Jordan. He told him he had me and Magic, and didn’t Michael want to be a part of history too?