JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
When Tony Kukoc Made a Bold Statement Regarding Yugoslavia vs Dream Team; Find Out Details
Tony Kukoc is one of the best European players ever to play in the NBA. Kukoc played for the Chicago Bulls alongside the likes of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
In sports, there are always comparisons regarding two top teams of the generations and the comparison between the ex-Yugoslavia basketball team vs the Dream Team of the USA always catches attention.
The ex-Yugoslavia team was a force to reckon with Toni Kukoc and a handful of basketball stars who were also a part of the NBA teams as well as top European clubs at that time.
Everyone expected Yugoslavia to be the only team who could have posed a threat to the Dream Team at that point but by the 1992 Olympics, Yugoslavia dissolved into separate countries and that dream of the fans never got fulfilled.
Kukoc’s views on Yugoslavia vs Dream Team
"If that (1988 Yugoslavia) team ever stayed together and we played the finals against the Dream Team, I am not saying we would have won the game, but I'm saying it would be a really, really interesting game to watch," Kukoc told Bulls.com in 2017.
For those unaware, the USA once struggled against Yugoslavia. After defeating the United States in the 1987 Junior FIBA Tournament, they produced yet another incredible victory in the 1990 FIBA World Championship. With players such as Vlade Divac, Dino Radja, Drazen Petrovic, and Kukoc all performing at a very high level, that team was simply loaded.
What did Kukoc say?
"We had eight, maybe nine guys played in the NBA with that team; we were good, knew each other well. The tournaments we won, World Championship, two European champions, we won with ease. Winning in the finals by 20, 30-some points, which is what the Dream Team won against other teams. It would have been a good game to watch," Kukoc said.
Blowout win for the Dream Team
Kukoc, Radja, and Petrovic of Croatia advanced to the finals where they faced The Dream Team despite having less firepower. But Croatia lost badly, 117-85, to a team led by future Hall of Famers in the NBA at the time.
