CONVERSE, CONVERSE BIRD, SIZE UNLISTED

Rubber, Leather, Cotton, Synthetic

Circa 1992

In 1992, for the first time, professional athletes from the NBA were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. After the United States’ third-place finish in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and the Soviet Union’s gold-medal performance, USA Basketball assembled what is widely regarded as one of the most remarkable rosters in sports history. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, and Scottie Pippen were among the players selected for Team USA. Eleven members of the 1992 roster were later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The team’s performance was dominant, concluding its Olympic run with a perfect 8–0 record. Today, the 1992 United States Men’s Basketball Team, known globally as the “Dream Team”, is credited with elevating the cultural significance and international popularity of basketball.

Offered in this lot is a pair of Converse Bird sneakers dressed in a Dream Team-inspired colorway. The pair features “BIRD” embroidered on the collar, as well as Bird’s number, "7". Throughout the 1992 Olympics, Bird wore various versions of the Converse Bird in Team USA-inspired colors. As an artifact closely tied to one of the most important teams in basketball history, the pair stands as a tangible reminder of the global impact of the 1992 Olympic Games.