Oscar Schmidt said there was also some trash-talking when the two faced each other in 1992.
For those who do not know about him, Oscar Schmidt is one of the greatest basketball players that never played in the NBA. Those who do know are well aware that he's regarded as arguably the greatest Olympic basketball player of all time and, unsurprisingly, the GOAT of Brazilian basketball.
As expected, Schmidt did cross paths with Michael Jordan back in the day. And it happened even before Brazil played against the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics.
"Michael Jordan was a very tough player. I played an exhibition game with him in Trieste; it was the Americas and Italy against another team. And then he played my team. Half the game he played for us and half the game for the other team. That was a beautiful game. When he attacked on the court, he hurt two of our players!," Schmidt told Olympic Channel last year.
The Dream Team vs. The Nightmare Team
The way Schmidt described his games against the Chicago Bulls legend meant that there were a lot of epic moments, which were, unfortunately, not recorded. However, many were able to witness the pair face off in Barcelona in '92 when Team USA took on Brazil.
Ahead of the game, Brazil veteran Marcel De Sousa already came up with a witty soundbite by remarking, "If they are the Dream Team, we are the Nightmare Team. We want to see how good we are against them."
But as expected, Schmidt's Brazil failed to get the better of Jordan's Dream Team. They kind of expected it at the time, but what stuck to Schmidt to this day was the little back-and-forths during the game and, more importantly, the fun they all had.
"Yes [there was some trash-talking since] we're all kids. Everybody who plays basketball is a kid. So when we play against each other, the great players respect the other great players of the other team. That's normal. After the game we laughed a lot," Schmidt recalled.
Oscar's MVP
It's safe to say Schmidt was Jordan's GOAT counterpart in Brazil at the time, but during their '92 clash, it didn't boil down to a battle between the two legendary basketball players, perhaps because Charles Barkley stole the show.
"That Charles Barkley … we just don't see anyone like that," Schmidt told USA Basketball after the game. "I loved it. They are my idols. I will remember this game for the rest of my life."
