Olympic Trials

8/18/12

While the Olympic torch has been extinguished, the debate over the talent on the 1992 Dream Team vs the 2012 Team USA still burns on. Unfortunately, those arguing are attempting to answer the ultimate rhetorical question. The only game that will ever be played will be staged on X-Box360 by teenagers who were not yet born when Magic, Bird, and Jordan wore the Red, White, and Blue.

The argument would have been moot had Team USA not survived a scare from the Gasol brothers, Jose Calderon (Yes, that Jose Calderon), and Rudy Fernandez (Yes, that Rudy Fernandez) in the Gold Medal Game. Though both the 1992 and 2012 squards attained their ultimate goal, the Dream Team did so with such remarkable ease. So much so that their toughest test was a 32-point rout over Croatia in the final. As a means of comparison, Coach K's Team USA trailed Lithuania with under 5 minutes to play in an early-round match-up.

The Dream Team dominated as a result of their unparalleled talent from top to bottom. The roster included an amazing 1/5 of the 50 Greatest NBA Players of all time. Yes, to be fair, this included some individuals like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson who admittedly were not at their peak at the time of the Olympics in Barcelona. Nonetheless, it leads one to question how many of the 2012 Team USAers would have even made the 1992 team, nevermind play a starring role.

Besides Christian Laettner, is there a single Dream Teamer that would not make the "Best 12" of the two teams?

In looking up and down the 1992 Dream Team roster, it's hard to argue that anyone besides Laettner did not belong. That being said, it'd be impossible to keep Kobe, Lebron and, Durant off that team. But who to take off?

Of course, debates can be made up and down the roster. For example, many will argue that Larry Bird was at the very end of his career. In the final year of his NBA career, the season prior to the 1992 Games, Bird averaged 20, 10, and 7. Oh yeah, and he shot over 40% from beyond the arc and over 90% from the charity stripe.

Chris Mullin averaged 26, 6, and 4 in the seasons before, and after, winning his Gold Medal. Magic was washed up by that time, right? Not exactly. He filled up the stat sheets with an impressive 19, 13, and 7 in the season prior to the Olympics, his last before an attempted comeback years later.

Recently, a friend argued the merits of choosing Chris Paul over John Stockton, the all-time NBA leader in both Assists and Steals. As a pass-first, less turnover prone PG, Stockton is not only better equipped to quarterback a team of stars, he was also simply better than CP3 throughout his career. Yes, Paul is still young, but he would have to continue to improve dramatically in order to be mentioned with the greats like Stockton.

In the year prior to the Olympics, Stockton averaged 17 and 14. Paul? A very impressive 20 and 9. While Stockton would likely have teamed up with Malone for at least 1 title had it not been for G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan (and his push off on Byron Russell), Paul has not had much NBA Playoffs success as of late. No disrespect to CP3, who may grow to be one of the best PGs of all-time, but he should not, and would not, have beat out John Stockton for a roster spot. Anyone who argues otherwise does not remember the greatness of the gritty PG. Is Paul more athletic? Sure. But athleticism only counts for so much. Blake Griffin's freakishness does not make him a better player than Karl Malone.

The closer one examines the statistics, the harder it is to imagine the 2012 Team USAers claiming victory in an actual matchup. And that's before even considering the enormous size differential that would exist. Team USA had no answer for mediocre bigs Serge Ibaka and Nene, nevermind the likes of Ewing, Robinson, and Malone.

Could the 2012 Team USA ever beat the 1992 Dream Team? Sure they could. After all, Lehigh beat Duke despite an obvious disparity in talent. Then again, the Dukies didn't have Jordan, Drexler, and Barkley.

Unfortunately, it seems the debate will continue to burn on. At least until NBA2K13 debuts anyway.