Dream Time Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dream Team

Patrick Aloysius Ewing (1962- ) was the first overall draft pick (by the New York Knicks) in 1985. He played for them until 2000, then moved to the Seattle Supersonics for a season, and finished his NBA career with Orlando Magic in the 2001-2002 season. This was followed by a number of coaching roles, becoming head coach for Georgetown, his alma mater, in 2017.

A list of Ewing's accomplishments and awards as a professional would be so long as to be boring, but it included Rookie of the Year, and selection for the NBA All-Star team 11 times. He had a cameo role in the 1996 film 'Space Jam', playing himself as one of the basketball players whose skills had been stolen. He played Centre on the Dream Team.

Answer: Dream Team

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (1963- ) is quite possibly the greatest basketball player of all time; he was certainly one of the best marketed ones. He was drafted in 1984 by the Chicago Bulls (third pick, after Akeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie), with whom he played until 1998, with a break in 1994, before a second retirement which was followed by a two-season stint with the Washington Wizards. He was known for his ability to leap while shooting at the basket, leading to one of his nicknames, Air Jordan - which then became the name for the model of shoe he promoted for Nike.

Jordan was the only member of the Dream Team to start for all eight games of the Olympic competition, playing as a Shooting Guard, and came second in scoring, behind Charles Barkley. In the NBA, he led the league ten times, seven of them in consecutive years, and earned enough awards to make him (at the time) the most decorated player of all time.

Answer: Dream Team

Karl Anthony Malone (1963- ) was nicknamed 'The Mailman' because, ostensibly, "he always delivers", and he is recognised as one of the greatest Power Forwards of the game. He was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1985, and played with them until 2003, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for a season. He was a 14-time NBA All-Star, missing out only once in the years from 1988 through 2002. At the age of 40, he became the oldest player to record a triple-double (meaning he recorded 10 or more for three of five statistical categories - points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots - in a single game) when he scored 10 points, made 11 rebounds and was credited with 10 assists in a game against the San Antonio Spurs.

When the Dream Team won gold at a lead-up event to the Olympics, beating Venezuela 127-80 to take out the Tournament of the Americas, Malone was made an honorary member of the Oregon National Guard. He wore the number 11 jersey on the Dream Team, and selected that number again when he moved from the Jazz to the Lakers.

Answer: Dream Team

Charles Wade Barkley (1963- ) was a Power Forward drafted in 1984 (two picks after Michael Jordan) by the Philadelphia 76ers, for whom he played until 1992 before being traded to the Phoenix Suns for four seasons, then the Houston Rockets until his retirement in 2000. He retired as the fourth player in the NBA to have reached the 20k/10k/4k statistical combination: 23,757 points, 12,546 rebounds and 4,215 assists.

Barkley had tried out for the 1984 Olympics, but failed to make the cut, and was professional in 1988, so the Dream Team offered him his first chance for Olympic gold - which was repeated in 1996. He led the team in scoring, with an average of 18.0 points per game, and set an Olympic record with 30 points in the victory over Brazil.

Answer: Dream Team

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (1959- ) was the first overall draft pick in 1979, going to the Los Angeles Lakers with whom he played until a 1991 retirement following an announcement that he was HIV positive. There was some controversy about his selection to the Dream Team, because there was a lot of ignorance and misinformation about AIDS at the time. He only played in 6 of the games due to knee problems, but had the second highest assists per game, averaging 5.5.

Following the Olympics, Johnson had several returns to the professional game, both as a coach and as a player, but with mixed success. He had more luck with the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a team that he gathered to tour playing exhibition games. They racked up a 55-0 record in the period between his first retirement and his return to the Lakers in 1996, and he continued to play with them regularly over the years.

Answer: Wrong Time

William Felton Russell (1934-2022) played Center for the Boston Celtics from 1956 until 1969, during which time they won 11 championships. He was an NBA All-Star 12 years out of 13, and five times won the MVP award. He was known for his rebounding skills, and was one of only two players to amass 50 rebounds in a single game (the other being his rival Wilt Chamberlain). Prior to his professional career, he was captain of the 1956 US Olympic team that won gold. But his prime was definitely too early for the Dream Team.

Bill Russell was one of the first, if not the first, black superstars in the NBA. In 2012 Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in acknowledgement of his sporting prowess and his work in the area of civil rights. Following his death in 2022, the NBA retired his #6 jersey across the entire league.

Answer: Wrong Time

Wilton Norman Chamberlain (1936-1999) was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959, following a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. He played center for them (with his rookie contract making his the top salary in the NBA), scoring 43 points in his first game, and starting his legendary rivalry with Bill Russell in his fourth game.

He was both Rookie of the Year and MVP, as well as setting 8 NBA records in his first year. By the time of his retirement in 1973, he held 72 NBA records.

Answer: Wrong Time

Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. (1947- ) adopted the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (which means noble one, servant of the Almighty) when he converted to Islam in 1971. He was known as Lew Alcindor in high school and college records. He was the first pick of the 1969 draft, going to the Milwaukee Bucks; in 1975 he moved to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played until his retirement in 1989. At the time of his retirement, he was the all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points; this record stood until broken by LeBron James in 2023. He also held the record form most games played (1560, later surpassed by Robert Parish), most field goals (15,837) and most minutes played (57,446).

Amazing as his performance statistics are, Abdul-Jabbar's career as an author (particularly about African-American culture and history) was equally impressive, leading to the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. A non-sporting audience may recognise him from his work in a range of media roles (including a hilarious part in the movie 'Airplane' in which he plays a crew member who is mistaken for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by a youngster).

Answer: Wrong Time

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (1972- ) was the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft, chosen by Orlando Magic. As is the case for most, if not all, of the players in this quiz, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time, playing as Center on 15 NBA All-Star teams in his 19-year career. He was Player of the Week in his first week of professional basketball, and went on to be Rookie of the Year. He played for five different teams: Orlando Magic, Las Angeles Lakers (with a young Kobe Bryant), Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers (with LeBron James) and Boston Celtics.

Shaq was eligible to be the Collegiate player on the Dream Team, since he had not yet started his professional career, but the spot went to Christian Laettner. He was part of the 1996 Dream Team II that won gold in Atlanta, the last time he chose to be part of a national representative team. He has also developed a career in music (his 1993 debut rap album 'Shaq Diesel' was certified platinum) and film.

Answer: Wrong Time

LeBron Raymone James Sr. (1984- ) was much too young to be on the Dream Team, being all of eight years old at the time. In 2003 he was drafted first pick in the draft, straight out of high school, and spent seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, before controversially moving to the Miami Heat, a move announced live on television. He won two championships there before returning to the Cavaliers, leading them in 2016 to their first championship since the team was established in 1970. As the only player in this quiz who is still an active player in the NBA at the time of writing, career highlights are premature, but it can be noted that in 2023 he became the player with the most points scored, overtaking the record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of 38,387 points, set in 1984.

In 2004 James was on the USA Basketball team that won bronze at the Olympics, the country's lowest place since professionals joined the competition in 1992. He was part of the successful 2008 team, and again in 2012.