Michael Jordan wrestled Patrick Ewing, twisted his neck in 1984 during Olympic debuts

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Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing were teammates on the 1992 Dream Team, but few remember that the two made their first Olympic appearances with the 1984 United States men’s basketball team led by head coach Bob Knight.

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Ewing almost didn’t play during the summer of 1984 and was expected to be sent home by Knight because he suffered an injury due to horseplay with his roommate, who just so happened to be Jordan.

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“He and Jordan are roommates,” assistant coach C.M. Newton told former Notre Dame head coach Digger Phelps, according to The Athletic. “They were wrestling in their room, and Ewing has a twisted neck.”

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Phelps was working as an analyst for ABC at the time, and he told Knight that he “needed” to have Ewing on the Olympic team. Since Phelps and Knight were good friends, Knight didn’t make any changes to the roster.

During their gold medal run in 1984, Ewing averaged 11.0 points and finished with 18 blocks in eight games. Jordan averaged 17.4 points per game, which led the team.

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