NEW YORK (USA) - Michael Jordan firmly believes the USA men should not come up short of gold medals in international competition.
A gold medal winner with USA at the 1984 and 1992 Olympics, Jordan concedes the game is better around the world and that other national teams are more formidable than they once were.
"International basketball has evolved", he said.
Jordan, who went into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015, sees positives in the international game.
National Team Basketball is pure, pure passion and dedication to the country as well as to the game
"It's all huge," he said. "That is very genuine ... no money involved. That is pure, pure passion and dedication to the country as well as to the game."
Jordan shot to prominence in the USA when he played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He won an NCAA title as a freshman and was also a collegiate player of the year.
After his junior year with North Carolina, in 1984, he elected to turn professional. But before hitting the NBA hardwood, he played for his country at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Jordan is glad that he did.
"It changed my name from Mike Jordan to Michael Jordan," he said. "Representing your country, feeling that energy of the United States, '84, staying in the Village, and understanding and spending time with all of the other athletes and seeing their passion and their effort."
MJ also said something that may surprise some when he compared his '84 Olympic summer to the Dream Team experience in Barcelona.
"In '92, we rented a whole hotel," he said. "We were away from everybody. We had police escorts back and forth to the events. It was a totally different experience. If you had to ask me which one I enjoyed the most, it was '84 by far."
But when it was put to him in an interview with NBC that USA may have a difficult time winning a gold medal in 2028, Jordan rolled his eyes.
The interviewer, Mike Tirico, stopped asking the question and said: "You're rolling your eyes at me."
In 2028? There is no way we should lose
Jordan then explained why, saying: "Only because I think basketball is so strong in the United States. I think there's no way we should lose."
Jordan finished playing game professionally 23 years ago. He is a hugely successful businessman and remains in the spotlight.
His name often comes up within conversations about the greatest players in the history of the game.
In fact, he was asked in the NBC interview about the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) conversation that often surfaces. His name is also mentioned.
"No GOAT term is not something that I ever will get high or low about," Jordan said.
"It just doesn't exist with me. I never played against Oscar Robertson or Jerry West. I would have loved to, absolutely loved to. Just the competitor that I am. I actually learned from them. And we paved the road to the Kobes (Bryant) and the LeBrons (James), right?
I would have loved to have played against LeBron or Kobe in my prime
"To me, it's the beauty of the game of basketball that a player after a previous player has evolved the game.
"But don't then, in essence, don't then use that against the player that actually taught you the game, or you learned from. ... I would have loved to have played against LeBron or Kobe in my prime.
"I would have loved to have played against those guys. But we'll never be able to know that. Part of the marketing, part of the hype, part of the things that tries to elevate one generation above the other, I think it creates animosity.
"I have no animosity against today's players but you do have certain players that do have animosity because of the 'forgotteness' of their contribution has been to the game of basketball. It is what it is. It is an empty comparison that you will absolutely never find the true answer to that question. It's just going to keep going."
But is Jordan okay with fans having G.O.A.T. arguments?
"100 percent great to talk about," he said.
"I think LeBron has had an unbelievable career and I admire him for what he has done. And Kobe, as well as KD (Kevin Durant) as well as all of these guys that have played in this era. I think they have elevated the game of basketball tremendously.
"I just don't agree when you start trying to put one above the other. It doesn't work. We'll never know. It creates more of a problem, not for me - I've never given it credence.
"But for other players that look for their existence within the generation of basketball, and we should always honor that, always preserve that ... that they paved the road for a lot of generations after that.
"And by doing that - *Jabbar (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell had 11 championships. How do you just push them in a corner and say, "Uh, we don't think about you. We forgot about you. That to me is where I get lost."
FIBA