In the summer of 1992, an unmatched squad of American basketball talent brought home the gold medal from Barcelona, Spain. For the first time ever,
the U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team boasted professional players. Led by co-captains Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, the team not only won gold, but did so by completely annihilating each opponent by an average winning margin of 44 points. They blasted Croatia in the championship game by the final score of 117-85, which was close by their standards. The team was coached by Chuck Daly who was assisted by Lenny Wilkens, P.J. Carlesimo and Duke's legendary Coach K. Every player on the squad brought impeccable credentials to the table: Magic, Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen David Robinson. The 12th and
final player was Duke star Christian Laettner, the reigning NCAA Player of the Year and only college player chosen.
Offered in this lot are two pieces from Laettner's personal collection holding the signatures of every single Dream Team player. The first item is a USA Basketball-branded embroidered hat ("One
Size Fits All") with an adjustable, interlocking strap on the back. Every Dream Team member has autographed the cap in black fine-point marker including Barkley, Bird, Drexler, Pippen and Stockton who have all signed on the red brim. The remaining seven signatures all reside on the white portion of the cap and are all clearly legible.
The second item is a large (44" x 24") white cotton towel also branded with the red, white and blue
USA Basketball logo. Once again signed in black fine-point marker by all 12 Dream Team players, it sports four very clearly legible signatures on the red stamped portion of "USA" on one end: Bird, Laettner, Mullin and
Stockton, with the remaining eight signatures residing on the white cotton towel, which shows some sweat staining perhaps from a Dream Team practice or game. The latter autographs have all bled slightly into the towel and are less
prominent but still recognizable, including Jordan and Magic.
Includes 2 Full LOAs from PSA/DNA, one for each item. LOA from Laettner as well.