In the weeks leading up to the London 2012 Olympics there was (and there still is) a lot of chatter going around about which team is better, the 1992 "Dream Team" or the 2012 USA Basketball Team. The 1992 squad that participated in the 1992 games in Barcelona featured 11 hall of fame players including guards John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Clyde Drexler as well as forwards, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin, Christian Laettner, and centers Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. Laettner is the lone non-superstar, but at the time he was the best college basketball player in the country. The current 2012 squad includes guards Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden as well as forwards Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Love, and Centers Anthony Davis and Tyson Chandler.
I have one major issue with this debate, which is that when people argue over which team is better, context is never used as evidence. For example, did the 1992 team feature 11 hall of famers, absolutely. However it did not featured 11 Hall of Famers who were in their prime. In fact, three of the bigger names on the team, Larry Bird, Magic, Johnson, and John Stockton, were not even close to their full potential. Bird and Johnson were at the end of their careers, and Stockton wasn't healthy. Larry Bird's back was so bad during the games that he had trouble sitting on the bench. He missed four of seven games in the playoffs against the Cavaliers before the Olympic Games started because of his back issues. He eventually retired after the games. Magic Johnson played very infrequently during the games because of terrible knee problems. He was more of an ambassador during the games for the NBA as well as HIV. Lastly, John Stockton was also hurt throughout the entire tournament and never started a game and only played in four games..
Thus, the 1992 Dream Team was a combination of some of the best basketball talent the league and world has ever seen, but they weren't a team of all these great players in their primes. In fact, people say that an Andre Iguodala, a James Harden, an Anthony Davis or even a Kevin Love would've never gotten close to making a dream team, and that's probably true. But unlike the 1992 team which just put together the best names possible, the 2012 team picked the best team possible and left out those who were injured. Current 2012 USA coach Mike Krzyzewski could've theoretically taken injured stars Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, and Dwyane Wade but those guys just were not healthy.The team would've had far superior name power with those guys on the roster, but Coach K, doesn't have the luxury of taking injured players because the international pool is far deeper (will be talked about later). Those guys that are hurt right now, also aren't going to try to play because they still have their whole careers in front of them unlike Bird and Johnson.
Additionally people look back at the 1992 team, and are mesmerized by the names on the back of those classic USA jerseys, but the team was not as great as it seemed. Current basketball fans have this love and obsession for players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, which is totally understandable, but what they are missing are the players that are right in front of them. The current USA team has Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant, three of the league's best scorers ever. It features guards Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Russell Westbrook who are changing and evolivng the point guard position. I think it's great that NBA fans look back into history, because the NBA does have a rich history, but these guys on the 1992 team were not immortal. They were NBA superstars just like the ones on this current team.
My last point, which I touched upon briefly earlier, is the difference in international talent now compared to twenty years ago. In 1992 there were only 21 international players in the entire NBA. Today, that number has tripled and now 20% of the NBA is international. Not to mention that when the 1992 team was competing in Barcelona, there were no international NBA stars like there are now. The NBA didn't have anything close to Dirk Nowitzki (GER), Tony Parker (FRA), Manu Ginobili (ARG), Pau and Marc Gasol (ESP) Steve Nash (CAN) or Luol Deng (GBR). The NBA also didn't even have the solid foreign players you have now like Jose Calderon (ESP), Luis Scola (ARG), Serge Ibaka (ESP), Nene (BRA) or Nicolas Batum (FRA). It didn't even have the mediocre foreign players like Leandro Barbosa (BRA), Mikael Pietrus (FRA), Andrei Kirilenko (RUS) and Rudy Fernandez (ESP), and there are many many more. Critics of this current USA team, exclaim that this team is worse because their margin of victory is less than the "Dream Team" but why should it be the same. The international pool is fantastic and that's the truth. Not to mention that the current USA team already broke the record for biggest margin of win when they beat Nigeria last week by 83 points.
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