1992 or 2008
Barkley/Bird/Drexler/Ewing/Magic/Jordan/Laettner/Malone/Mullin/Pippen/Robinson/Stockton
Boozer/Melo/Wade/Bosh/Williams/Kobe/Prince/Howard/CP3/Kidd/LBJ/Redd
Being that the FIBA Worlds are underway I thought it would only be right if I talked about the last gold medal team vs. the All-time heralded Dream Team of 1992. Above are the lists of the rosters of each team.
On paper:
The Dream Team is by far the better team if you just look at the sheet of paper with rosters on. Being that they sport such accomplishments (collectively) as 116 All-star appearances; 56 All-NBA 1st teams; 15 MVP's; and 23 NBA Tittles. There is noway (right now) that the Redeem team comes in the neighborhood of this. "NOT YET"
Remember the Dream Team average age was 29, they were already well established in their careers when this team assembled. The Redeem Teams oldest person (Kobe Bryant) was only 29, the rest of the team averaged 24. Also with names like Bryant/Wade/LBJ/CP3/D. Will/Howard/Bosh/Melo between that group I am sure there are plenty more All-star appearances, 1st team selections MVP's and NBA championships to be had.
On the Court
Now when comparing these teams don't just look at the names, look at the point in which theses players were in their careers when their respective teams won the Gold.
(Remember: In 1992 most of the Dream Team were starting that decline process, they have some physical limitations that don't show when you just look at the names of the individuals. Magic had already retired, Bird's back was all but gone, and Stockton had some of his own injuries.)
Athleticism
The Dream Team's best athletes consisted of (Jordan/Drexler/Pippen/Robinson), but it's clear to see that they couldn't run with the Redeem Team. This is the point of the game where 2008 teams youth fullness will be in their favor. Bird/Mullin/Laettner/Stockton (injured)/Magic/Ewing could not realistically run with this squad. Then no1 on that 92' team brought together all the qualities of size/strength/speed/agility the way LBJ does. LBJ by himself would be an Horror Film for the Dream Team to try and guard.
Nod: Redeem Team
Perimeter
Michael Jordan is the best player of All-time (accolades and trophy case) and is also one of the best athletes on the wing of All-time, but his student in KB24 is equal (athletic ability wise) on the perimeter. Kidd at 35 vs. injured Stockton equals out. After that how can you not give the advantage to the Redeem Team, as already stated LBJ is a nightmare, and the way Wade looked it's not crazy to think that he would be an almost just as difficult cover for the older guards and wings of the Dream Team.
Nod: Redeem Team
Front court
With a front court putting out Barkley/Malone/Ewing/Robinson vs. Howard/Bosh/Bozzer and Howard liability on offense, boozer being undersized and Bosh's liability on defense the Dream Team front court would def. get the upper hand.
Nod: Dream Team
Half-court Offense
Now the way the games looked it could be said that the Redeem didn't have to play half-court ball as much. But compared Team vs. Team the Redeem team didn't stack as good in post play and perimeter shooting. The question is Team vs. Team would the Redeem Team with that youth and ability allow the game to even get in to half-court sets that much?
Nod: Dream Team (on condition of way game is played)
Chemistry
With already proven veteran superstars the Dream Team didn't need as much chemistry to compete against talent on such an inferior level. On the other hand the 2008 squad had been playing with each other for 3 years leading up to the games, and in a game where chemistry would mean so much the 2008 players knew each other and were better friends on the court.
Nod: Redeem Team (on condition of years played together before games)
International experience + Comp Level
The FIBA games really are completely different, the fact that the 2008 team had been getting to know the rules for a couple years up to their games gives them the advantage. Also, the level of competition oversees is a lot higher then when the Dream Team was winning by 40. A post from NBA.com highlights the fact that 2008 Olympics had 42 NBA players (including drafted players yet to come over) in 1992 there were barley 10. The Redeem Team faced more talent in one game against Spain then the Dream Team did the whole 1992 Olympic games.
Nod: Redeem Team
The Dream Team is by far the best collection of names ever assembled and listed on a piece of paper, but that is only viewing names on a paper. If you take the teams and let them play each other at the points in their careers when they excepted their gold medals the advantage to win a game or a series clearly belongs the the 2008 Redeem Team.
What's Yal Take?
1 comment:
Let's first look at the history of the Olympics and why the 1992 "Dream Team" was more political than anything else; Thus, making the comparison between that team and the 2008 "Redeem Team" somewhat unrealistic.
Prior to the 1992 Games, NBA players or other "professional" athletes could not participate in the Olympics. However, all countries, except for the US had national teams made up of what were essentially adult athletes(some would consider them professionals, since all they did was play on their countries' teams), who played together on a regular basis year round. The US used amateur players from the college ranks who were assembled, during the summer, prior to that year's Games. The US generally dominated the Games, until countries started developing players, who would eventually start playing in the NBA(the discrepancy between the 10 pro players in 1992 and the 40+ in 2008). This culminated in the embarrassment of the US playing for the bronze medal in the 1988 Games with not even the best college players the country had to offer, because of the time commitment placed on the players.
That's when the US used its enormous clout to have the rules changed to allow professional athletes to participate in the Olympics in all sports, not just basketball. They went out and persuaded the "best of the best" to play, and this produced what became known as the "Dream Team".
They didn't have Chemistry, International Experience, Youth, etc. because they were not allowed to play on this level until the rule change. Plus, it has always been a challenge to get NBA players to commit to playing in these tournaments because of the time constraints. Even prior to the '08 Games, the US got embarrassed at an international tournament in either '06 or '07 because we didn't field the best players in the country. This isn't an easy sell for our country for a couple of reasons. College players don't want to risk injury and jeopardize the millions to be made in the NBA, and the blue chip NBA players are usually nursing their bodies back to health in the off-season or their respective teams may have reservations in letting them play in these tournaments, because of the risk of injury.
Now, a good comparison will be a few years from now when the next dream team comes along to see how they stack up against the '08 team. The '08 team should be commended for their commitment to playing and participating in the Games in the manner they did, because the press said they acted as if they were an actually part of the entire Olympic team and not isolated celebrities.
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