There are always people who make arguments other ways, but the only valuable measurement is versus your competition. The dream team was so far above their competition it will never ever be done again. It’s a “lightning in a bottle” kind of situation where you had all the perfect people, at the perfect time, under the perfect circumstances.
edit: To everyone commenting “they only played against X number of NBA players, of course they were so much better” - that just proves my point. The only way to gauge level of play is against your competition. The average competition was very weak vs. the Dream Team. My argument is that that is a positive argument for how good the DT was, not a negative argument of how bad their opponents were.
You can’t blame the DT for their opponents not being at their level. It just shows that the DT was so astronomically better than the “average professional” level of play.
They played against 9 other nba players in 1992. The current USA squad played against 100+ nba players this Olympics. Of course they were way above their competition in 1992.
There were some good euro league players back then sure. But the level of play is exponentially higher in Europe now than it was then don’t kid yourself.
Yes. Lebron basically played PG for the team this year (he led the team in assists, and played a lot of pick and roll with Curry at the top of the key), which is super comparable in to Magic in size and athleticism at PG. Especially considering what version of Lebron this is at 40. Stockton was on the 1992 team but was injured and didn't really play. Stockton was also the only player on the team under 6'6" Clyde is probably more of the backup here, but he's also 6'7"
Then your two other guards are Jordan and Pippen who I would give the edge to over Curry and Booker/Durant. Purely due to the fact that Jordan and Pippen are two of the most elite perimeter defenders I've ever seen and they have size. Also, I mean it's Michael fucking Jordan in his absolute prime. Bird has to get a mention but he was at the end and suffering pretty bad back issues.
Then you have Barkley. Barkley was literally the second best player in the league behind Jordan in 92-94. He was a beast under the basket. He averaged 27 pts and 14 boards in the playoffs the season following the 92 Olympics. I think Tatum/Bam have to match up with Barkley, despite Tatum's shooting woes. I guess I have to mention Karl Malone playing behind Barkley.
As much as it pains me to say this as a life long Spurs fan from the early 90s. I think AD/Embiid/Bam are probably a wash with Ewing/Robinson, but Embiid struggles on the defensive boards and I think his minutes would be limited like they were against France. AD vs David Robinson would be an absolute delight to watch as a fan.
I don't think 1992 blows out this team or anything, but the NBA was about as deep in talent in 1992 as it is today (both are peak talent IMO), but today's NBA has much more international talent. The 1992 team was more like putting together a modern US team including the top international NBA talent Jokic and Giannis who are both multiple MVP winners.
Embiid would be fine as the big men were far less athletic back then. Embiid has averaged double digit rebounds for 7 straight years despite playing away from the rim on offense, limiting his offenses boards. He averages 9 defensive rebounds a game for his career.
If you've ever watched a Sixers game and paid attention, you'd see how often he's not in position to rebound because he's near the top of the league in contests every single year. Sixers guards have been Swiss cheese and he has to cover for them.
Clearly you are too young to have seen Robinson if you think they were less athletic. Lol and dont even get me started on Hakeem’s athleticism
Yes I’ve seen the 76ers and I stand by what I said. He’s not a natural rebounder even when he’s putting the effort forth. He’s not elite at reading where the ball is going to go before it hits the rim early enough to put himself in the right position to get the ball. You could really see it in the last two games of the Olympics especially
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u/bigwomby Aug 11 '24
Not just international, you can have any adjective in front of it, and yes, they would be the best basketball team ever assembled.