Who is better? - ‘Dream Team’ or Team USA for the London Olympics – NBA Feature
Ever since the roster for Team USA was announced nearly a week back, there have been speculative debates going on all around the basketball world whether the current bunch of players are better than the original ‘Dream Team’ of
1992, or the original generation of star players possessed talents far beyond the reach of this new breed of young athletes.
To add fodder to fire, the ever effusive Kobe Bryant recently claimed that the current bunch of players could have taken on the ‘Dream Team’ at any given time. Bryant will be taking part in this year’s London Olympics and looks
to defend their gold medal run from four years ago.
The claim by Kobe has left Michael Jordan, one of the key figures of the team from 1992, rather amused.
“For him to compare those two teams is not one of the smarter things he ever could have done, I heard Kobe say we were not athletic, But we were smart. He said we were too old, but I was 29 and in the prime of my career. Pip (Scottie
Pippen) was 26 or 27, (Charles) Barkley was 29, Patrick (Ewing) was 29 and Chris Mullin was 29. Almost everybody was still in their twenties.”
There is no doubt that the bunch of players who represented USA at that time, were bigger names, and had more class and talent as compared to this current group of athletes. However for the fans to realize that, it took an Olympic
gold.
It is common human nature to be mesmerized by the wonders of the past and 20 years down the line when the current core will retire, many people might argue in the favour of the present US team, if they win indeed win a gold at
London. Those who just hold a one-sided opinion (in favour of the Dream Team) are not considering every change that has come about over the years.
When it comes down to comparing the two generations of basketball players, it is a very hard opinion to form.
When the original team took to form and were allowed to take their talents to the Olympic stage, they took this new challenge by storm as they were far better players, coming in to participate from probably the best basketball
league in the world. That was the time, when basketball had not flourished much in countries other than the United States. Spain, Argentina, France, Brazil and all the present powerhouses of the game were just starting to develop and to rout them was a comparatively
easier task.
Also considering the amount of changes that have taken place over the years, both generations can draw comparisons to each other. As the time has gone by, athletes that are coming into the NBA have started taking up basketball
at a very early age, which allows them to have far more developed bodies in comparison to the players from back in the 90’s.
Furthermore in these current times, with the expansion of the game taking place on a far faster scale, the competitive edge of basketball has risen up, making it a very tough call to judge between the present and the past.
One thing however is for certain that the original ‘Dream Team’ had this aura about them which this current American contingent would have to work very hard for. But, to just rule them out of the discussion the way Charles Barkley
did, is not fair to the talent this current bunch has at their disposal.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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