who would win if the 1992 dream team competed against 2008’s olympic roster?
before you answer, let’s look at the facts talk about what i think i know. i’m pretty sure the dream team came to be after a rule change by FIBA, the dudes who essentially run international basketball allowed the national teams competing in the olympics to recruit professional ballers. the US was probably sick of racking up bronze medals, so coach chuck daly decided to stack the team. who was on it?
those guys. i’m sure you know them all, but:
charles “sir charles” barkley, larry bird, clyde “the glide” drexler, patrick ewing, earvin “magic” johnson (he had just made his HIV announcement. and was still frying bammas on the court), michael “air” jordan, christian laettner (he was still studying at duke university at the time!), karl “the mail man” malone, chris mullin, scottie pippen, david robinson, and john stockton.
the OG dream team. no shaq’s or reggie’s here, although they definitely wouldn’t have hurt. i’m almost 100% sure they were all NBA all-stars, and the majority of them have championship rings on one (or more) fingers. i need my homie from SLAM online to verify those facts, though. these guys won the gold medal, going 8-0 in competition. their average margin of victory was 44 points, and they never used one timeout throughout the entire olympics.
it’s 16 years later, and generation X has taken over the universe. basketball has become a widely played sport, secondary to only soccer, and we now have young gunners across the globe learning how to dribble as soon as they learn how to walk. maybe that’s why the US teams were getting manhandled in the past few world games. these guys, at least in the US, have multi-million dollar contracts that make michael jordan’s money from back in the day look like chump change. they also have the medical advances to play through and recover quickly from injuries that would have sidelined somebody with MVP potential for weeks.
the squadron: kobe bryant, dwight howard, lebron james, chris paul, carmelo anthony, carlos boozer, jason kidd, dwayne wade, chris bosh, tayshaun prince, michael redd, and deron williams.
not the absolute best from the NBA (like where is trillbert arenas!?), but definitely not too shabby. the roster has it all: convicted rapists, drunk drivers, and wife beaters. don’t get it twisted though. they can definitely ball.
the US team of 2008 hasn’t lost yet, and they’re rocking people left and right. but really…with all that’s known about these two squads, i am not sure who will win if they went at it. let me know your thoughts, and why. and shout out to the dudes at slam online, especially my dude ryne. got me hyped on the NBA again!
wiz khalifa - star power. best trunk music. ever.
the native soul - an evolution. it's $ulaiman of blind i. rapping!
christian rich - the decay mixtape [think electrorock meets hip hop and dates it for a bit.]
the paxtons - members only. chi-town/dc-bred dudes. nice rhymes, crazy beats.
evidence - the layover mixtape. this joint is CRAZY.
crucial mix by PFOP's lo. love songs and such!
if coldplay and jay-z made a album, it'd sound like this.
GLC - i ain't even yet: the mixtape. kanye's G.O.O.D. music artist's latest offering.
dandiggity's eclecticuts vol. 2. assortment of eclectic cuts. obviously.
dj klever - flashback. CRUCIAL mix of 80's jams that you've probably never heard before.
g*two - one man army. newest talent out the DMV. he's nice.
in my mind there will still be only one TRUE dream team and that was in 1992. you can’t argue that. there were 10 players on that team who, four years later, made the nba’s top 50 players of all time list. they were blasting teams by like 40 points a game.regarless, we need to reclaim that gold and get that usa bball swagger back.
Its great to see this team together. The only thing is seeing that today is the forth of July its funny because on the original forth all of these guys would have been working on somebody’s plantation. America we have come a long way but we still have so far to go. Now if these guys weren’t in the NBA would America still look at them the same way??????
Check this article out and see what still goes under the radar far too much
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_4930.shtml
“bigger, more powerful players, convicted rapists, drunk drivers, and wife beaters. ”
LOL!!!! Oh and Christian Laettner and Shaq were both officially on the roster. Shaq ended up being the first backup in case anyone got injured. They were both in college at the time. We see how the story ended though. RIP to Laettner’s b-ball career.
christian laettner is actually in the picture, mr. estate. in the back row, next to ewing and magic.
are we really comparing this? jordan, bird, magic, pippen, barkley, stockton and malone. lets be serious. not only did these guys play defense. they loved the game a hell of a lot more than players do now. im not saying that this years team is bad. but really any team with defensive player of scottie pippen. michael jordan. who just happens defensive player awards as well. and mvps. stockton like an all time assist leader, oh with magic, cant forget the old lakers.. lol.. there is only going to be one dream team. and im upset. i wasnt really old enough to witness them really play. all i have is the michael jordan dvds.. that gives me the memories.. but yeah 1992. USA team. they actually had action figures for that team. which i had!!
well if i had to do a breakdown. line up would look like this
center patrick ewing
power forward charles barkley
small forward scottie pippen
shoot guard from north carolina MICHAEL JORDAN
and point magic johnson
center- dwight howard
power forward- chris bosh
small forward lebron james
shooting guard- kobe bryant
point guard chris paul
would have put melo. but kobe is a monster.
if that sounds good to everyone. let me kno. if it doesnt then switch and argue.
with that said. lets break it down
ewing or howard.
answer- howard. hes young and a beast. kinda like a mini shaq when he started. but i believe only better.
barkley or bosh.
answer- Sir Charles. only the leading rebounder. he could score. and win games for his team when it came down to it.
pippen or lebron
answer- pippen. now i kno u might argue this one. but defense wins championships. and lebron cant shoot outta 15 feet. he gotta work on that jumper. then he will be the real beast.
jordan or kobe-
answer- jordan. need i say more?
paul or magic
answer- magic he is like a 6′6 point guard who can pass the ball anywhere to any person at any time. paul is a beast. but magic is magic. these are hall a famers here we are comparing to.
with that said. if it balances out. 1992 dream team.
and even if i gave u the lebron and pippen one. it will still outweigh dream team 3 and the new team 2. so.. all i have to say is jordan, magic, and barkley. the best at their position in those groups.
by the way. good post modi!!!!!!!
im gonna have to go with the original dream team. each and every person on that team (except ex-wizard/hawk/blue devil laettner) will be in the hall of fame when all is said and done. the same probably won’t be said about this new team. yes, the 08 “redeem team” is bigger and more athletic, but there is a reason why they are called just that, the “redeem team.” nba ball has fallen off since jordan left and the last of the great olympic teams in 96. they played with passion, played defense, and could drain 3’s better than this squad (they shot 40%, check the stats. 08 is at like 26% or something like that). all i hear about the new teams is how good they look in the open floor when they dunk. not saying they aren’t talented but they are nowhere near the same caliber of talent at 92. that’s my 2 cents… for now…
dream team. period. hands down. game over in the first half. Shaq comes in as last man off the bench and puts D. Howard in the stands. Magic has 23 assists. Jordan with a trip-dub. Barkley dunks on the entire “redeem team”, including coach K. Larry Bird just stands in the corner for the entire game and drains three’s from there. I mean c’mon now, John Stockton is the BACK UP? the all time nba assists leader is the BACK UP? I don’t even wanna talk about what Malone and the Admiral do to Bosh and Boozer. The old Jazz duo would absolutely destroy the new one. Clyde? Probably the second smoothest player ever (George “the Ice MAn” Gervin). And Chris Mullings might be the most fundamentally sound forward to play the game.
ONce again, Dream Team. Hands down. Period.
No Way does the Dream Team defeat the Redeem Team. That is actually the most ludicrous statemant i have heard people make in a long time.
First of all let’s no forget, with the influx of international players to the NBA the level of play has risen as well.
Why in heavens do people assume that they are the greatest team ever?
Just because in ‘92 a group of all star’s and future Hall of Famers from the US got together and smashed their overmatched, outcoached competition does not mean that they are in fact the best that ever was. While we can certainly say that they were the best amongst their peers in THAT time, there is absolutely no comparing these two teams.
Basketball was a local product in the early 90’s, OUR local product, Think about how long its taken us to become even competent at soccer/football, and we still haven’t won a world CUP!
There are innumerable basketball leagues in other countries today simply because the interest is much bigger. All of this makes the competition tougher now than it has ever been before. SO let’s keep it real and admit that international competition was extremely weak once FIBA allowed professional athletes to compete. Years later its fair to say the rest of the world has caught up, and i’m sure today’s international squads would give the original “Dream Team” a serious run for their money. Let’s also not throw this Olympic team to the wolves because they face stiffer competition than their NBA Ancestors.
Really though?! Really? THe Dream Team would let some bamma from angola bust 24 on em… really? Professional basketball players have been playing in international events for way longer than America. The dream team was just the 1st team the US professional team sent to one of these types of events because the college all-star teams started losing a couple games here and there. Don’t get me wrong, basketball is growing internationally and competition is rising. But do you really think that this team is even the best you could put together from the current league? These are the people who are willing to give up their summer to the same grind of the season… KG, Shaq and others have repeatedly turned down the opportunity to try to prove to the world that the US is still better than them. (let’s be honest, it’s not about basketball.)
Plus, the NBA has developed into something different from what the players back in the day used to play. Touch fouls didn’t exist. If you can’t put the ball in the hoop from the floor, nobody’s gonna bail you out by blowin that whistle and puttin you on the line. There are no real bangers in the league anymore because if you put your shoulder in another mans chest nowadays it’s a foul. Back then your could have the forearm on the back, you could push the ball handler around and if he didn’t hit your shooting arm in the act, you basically were on your own. That was back in the days of tough buckets, when you would always pay for comin into the lane. As you’ve seen, the international game is played the same way. Once the American boys get bumped around they look to the ref to bail them out for takin dumb ass shots or tryin to run through a player on their way to the rim. That whole team, wit the exception of Lebron and MAYBE Dwight, is SOFT. period. The dream team was full of MEN. Grown ass men. These kids could not hang with them.
che is killin all y’all jive turkeys out here! TOUGH BUCKETS! wow. che, you have officially laid down the law.
except i definitely think kobe could hang with the OG dream team, no doubt. he may be sound, and complain a bit, but he makes shots that other players couldn’t even make in practice. and he jumps over luxury vehicles and snake pits. you can’t tell me that man is soft!
and why you gotta go on angola! i’m about to watch that game now on nbc’s olympic page.
Their takin notes from you, Modi.
http://www.blackvoices.com/olympics/dream-team-or-redeem-team?icid=200100174×1207631782x1200401901
Ugh I can’t spell. *They’re.
@ CHE
You have missed the entire point of my argument. Competition today is way tougher internationally than it has ever been.Back then competitors from other countries were in awe of the US, that’s never going to happen again. There are ballers out there from every country rivaling players from today’s era, and did you really call Dwayne Wade soft? To say DWade is soft is to say that Chef Boyardee is gourmet. As for putting together the best roster possible of American talent? with the Exception of KG this is the Creme de la Creme of American Talent. These guys are easily all stars, and with time some will be Hall of Famers. Team basketball is ever an evolving concept, putting together the best of US and asking them to play simply doesn’t work anymore. If the Dream Team played ball today they would have their hands full. Seriously.
I thought I knew a thing or two about the Dream Team, but I had no idea they didn’t use a single timeout throughout the tournament. Wow!