Kobe Bryant recently said the 2012 Olympic Team could beat the 1992 Dream Team. His feelings probably boiled over while he watched everybody gush at how good those old guys were during NBATV’s documentary declaring their greatness last month.
Why was Charles Barkley wearing bicycle shorts and a tank top as he strolled through the streets of Barcelona? His chain was kinda Run DMC-ish dope though.
Anyways, those guys were great but they never had to play teams featuring front-lines of Serge Ibaka and the Gasol brothers. They gave birth to guys like that, as well as the Manu’s and Dirk’s, but were never tested by them.
If you want to engage in this debate about who’s better, feel free. There’s no way to tell though. Laettner is a tough cover in any era. I’m not sure Anthony Davis can step out there with him.
But I am sure Larry Bird is right when he said the following:
Larry Bird on whether current Olympic team could beat Dream Team: “They probably could. I haven’t played in 20 years and we’re all old now.”
To dip my toe into the waters of this debate a bit more, I’ll only say this: The 2012 Olympic team is ridiculously good. They were good in 2008, but they’re better now. It’s cool again to play on Team USA, and the best players in the world are trying to make this team every time out. The visions of Colangelo, Coach K, and the rest of Team USA’s brain-trust have been achieved. That vision is alive right now, and it’s great for the sport.
Call me old-fashioned though, but I don’t see anybody stopping Michael Jordan. David Robinson and Patrick Ewing could do some serious damage inside too, but the Jordan thing puts it over the top for me. Assuming he’s played a little bit more than Larry over the last 20 years of course.
