1992 USA Dream Team vs. 2008 USA Olympic Team basketball
1992 USA Dream Team vs. 2008 USA Olympic Team
OLD SCHOOL vs. NEW SCHOOL – Who Wins?
So here it is, the 2008 Olympic games and the USA basketball team will win the Gold…. again. Since 1992, the USA has been on a tear in the Olympics. Let’s analyze both teams and see who would win if they played today:
1992 Dream Team vs. 2008 USA Gold
- Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant
- Charles Barkley vs. Deron Williams
- Larry Bird vs. Carmelo Anthony
- Clyde Drexler vs. Tayshaun Prince
- Patrick Ewing vs. Chris Bosh
- Magic Johnson vs. Jason Kidd
- Christian Laettner vs. Dwight Howard
- Karl Malone vs. Carlos Boozer
- Chris Mullin vs.Michael Redd
- Scottie Pippen vs.Lebron James
- David Robinson vs. Dwayne Wade
- John Stockton vs. Chris Paul
- Head Coach Chuck Daly vs. Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
China loves Kobe Bryant. Can you imagine how they’d feel about Michael Jordan in his prime? Michael has 6 rings – Kobe 3. Edge? – Michael Jordan – 1992
This is the one match up that didn’t quite fit. 2008 Olympic team has 3 point guards, the 1992 team carried 2. Charles Barkley was the “Round Mound of Rebound” – Deron Williams is primed for stardom. Edge? – Round Mound – 1992
This one is a “no brainer”. If this were a street fight, Carmelo would win with the dominate cheapshot to the back of the head. Larry is, on the other hand, one of the greatest to ever play the game. No contest here. Edge? – Larry Bird – 1992
This is a great matchup. Tayshaun has won an NBA championship early in his career. Clyde had to wait til’ the end. Tayshaun is silky smooth. Clyde is a kangaroo with explosive hops. Edge? – In a 51 to 49 vote – Clyde the Glide – 1992
Patrick Ewing took the New York Knicks to the brink of an NBA championship on numerous occasions. Chris Bosh can’t get Toronto out of the first round. Edge? Ewing dominates this matchup – 1992
Magic Johnson won NCAA Championship and NBA Championships – Jason Kidd? Nothing. Magic took the LA Lakers to the forefront. Jason Kidd? Nada. Edge? In a 100 – 0 landslide victory, Magic crushes Kidd. – 1992
Laettner had heroics at Duke but was a flame out in the NBA. Can you believe the Dream Team took him over Isaiah Thomas? Dwight Howard is THE dominant inside force on the East Coast. Dwight Howard, aka Superman, is superior in this matchup. Give us 10 years and we’ll say Superman is among the elite. Edge? Dwight Howard, the first – and maybe last – victory for the 2008 Olympic team
Ha! Carlos Boozer can’t hold Karl Malone’s jockstrap. Malone was an NBA MVP. Boozer? He’s averaging 2 points in the Olympic games. Edge? Karl “The Mailman” Malone. Dream Team 1992
Michael Redd is a pure shooter the world has never heard of. Chris Mullin was that white guy with the flat top. Both are C list basketball stars. Edge? Tie. 2 guys nobody talks about.
Scottie Pippen won multiple NBA titles with MJ at his side. Lebron got to the finals with some guy named Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Lebron is THE premier player in the NBA. Edge? King James. 2008 Olympic team.
Another tough matchup with 2 different players at different positions. David Robinson, the Admiral, scored over 70 points one game. Dwayne Wade uses the word “acrobatic” in his basketball playing vocabulary. Both have NBA titles. Edge? Dwayne Wade. 2008 Olympic team.
Chris Paul was runner up for the NBA MVP this year. John Stockton is the All-Time leader in both assists and steals. He had over 15,800 assists! Edge? Mr. Assist – John Stockton – 1992 Dream Team
Chuck Daly won 2 NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons. Mike Krzyzewski has won 3 NCAA Championships and is a continual top 10 team for the past 20+ years. Edge? Coaching Legend – Mike Krzyzewski – 2008 Olympic team.
FINAL OVERALL RECORDS? 1992 Dream Team wins with an overall record of 8-4-1. 2008 Olympic Team has some spark, but history will show that the 1992 Dream Team will never be touched.
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Comments
Intriguing matchup…. You are basing all of the results off of NBA success. Since most starts on 2008 are too young to have had much NBA success that is an unfair conclusion. Also, the FIBA competition is much greater now so you can’t really compare results internationally either. I think 2008 team has more talent but MJ would be tough to beat. Who would guard Lebron?? It would be a good game.
Love your site and this is the greatest post! I am a basketball junkie. The bottom line is the 1992 Dream Team would never lose a game. I dont care if the teams today are bigger, stronger, and more athletic. The original Dream Team was made up of the most cerebral and intelligent basketball players that ever lived. The basketball IQ of these guys was amazing and if they were ever faced any challenge, they would be able to pull together as a 12 man team and get through it victoriously. Without question!! Thanks for your comments in the forum on my site! Keep reading!
Dream team would crush 2008 team USA. in paint.
I mean, come on, Ewing and David Robinson, they both athletic and skilled, I mean much much more skilled than any center in today’s league. Dream team would dominate 2008 team USA. in paint area for sure. And they also have Malone and Barkley.
James and Wade are effective when attack the rim, but not as good as Kobe or Jordan in mid range, so both two players would need to challenge dream team’s low post defense which is much more tougher than most team’s defense today.
Magic and Bird may passed their prime, but dream team played team offense, not like 2008 team USA., they mostly play one on one, I would say today’s teams would hardly to adapt the style NBA players had in 1992.
This is a no contest…
Dream Team>>>>>>>Redemption Team, by ALOT.
Yes, the Redemption Team is good, yes, they won by a good margin, yes, they were dominant, yes they had great players on their roster.
However, nobody can come to me and say that they would be able to contend with the Original Dream Team whatsoever, and heres why.
One very huge problem with the Redemption is that…who is going to seriously cover up the Dream Team’s Big Men in the Paint? How do you handle Barkley, Ewing or Robinson in the middle? Dwight Howard? Please man, he’s great, however he won’t be able to take care of all of them, and Bosch and Boozer sure as heck will not able to contend with a Robinson, Ewing, Barkley and Malone in their prime.
The Redemption Team’s weakness was exploited during the 2008 Olympics, which was their lack for really big men in the paint. Up against the likes of Ewing, Robinson, Barkley and Malone, the Redemption Team will get killed here, heck, Howard would get systematically fouled, our eaten alive with physical play.
Magic at PG would be an absolute phenom on the table for any PG on the RT to try and face, and if you put Stockton, he’s a much faster, and super consistent shooter period.
The only case I can see is Lebron James, however good Defense will put this game out. He would have a hell of a time trying to get into the paint with the DT’s Big Men in there and they would pound him, even though Lebron is a beast. Not only that, but Pippen may not score as much as Lebron, but don’t try to say that Lebron will be able to “score at will” with one of the greatest 1 on 1 defenders of all time, arguably Top-2.
Pippen is only shorter by an inch, and has vastly longer arms plus he’s physically on par and would give Lebron one hell of a problem defensively. Lebron will get slowed down by Pippen period, he will still get his points no doubt, but every one of those shots will have come from some severe defensive play by Pippen.
Michael Jordan or Kobe – Firstly, MJ absolutely crushes Kobe on all categories, and everything + so much more. This is a 29 yr old MJ, who is absolutely in his prime and at the pinnacle of his athletic ability. MJ has better shooting, better choice of shots, a better jumper, better cuts, better ball handling (especially since he can grip the ball like an organe, where Kobe can’t due to hand size), the greatest inside game of all time, and arguably one of the top-3 or two best one on one defenses of any era. Many players such as Charles Barkley regard him as the greatest Defensive Player of their era, that pretty much tells you the tail.
No way is Kobe on MJ’s level, and no way Kobe is going to score “at will” against MJ either, however MJ will be able to do whatever he pleases to Kobe, or anyone else who tries to contend him. Say what you will, however if Coach Krzyzewski “plans” to try and sorta “nullify” MJ, he’ll need the entire Five Man Team to do it, no one on one will stop MJ period. You’ll need the entire Redemp Team on the floor to do that, and even then, MJ can still easily drop 30+ pts on them easily. Not only that, but because of MJ as a Fear Factor, this will open it up for everyone else, whom 10 out of the 12 were HoFer’s they would rip the Redemption Team apart.
MJ>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Kobe by a vast margin, he is the absolute biggest trump card and the most broken advantage on that 1992 Dream Team. Nobody on that 08 Redemption Team even remotely can stop or comes close to how dominant MJ can become if he wishes too.
Another factor that everyone seemingly forgets is the entire Team’s Shooting % and shots taken in contrast. The Dream Team was and is vastly superior in their shooting % in contrast to the Redemption Team’s Shooting %. The Redemption Team had some of the most terrible shooting % ever…they were averaging 26% from the 3P Line…26%!
That was worse then even the worse NBA Team in the league during that year!
The two three huge advantages with the Dream Team are this…
#1 Micheal Jordan <—- Broken Advantage!
#2 Far more Dominant Big Men in the Paint
#3 Way better Shooting Percentage
Put all of those together, and “if” their was a 7-Game Series, the Dream Team wins it 4-2 in Six Games.
Well stated. Though I would claim one thing and only ONE thing that might place the Dream Team of 2008 at Equal or about Equal standing with Dream Team 1992. And that is, that competition in the NBA and around the world was extremely soft and weak that one man teams could own house, (Jordan and the Bulls). But more than a decade later, competition in the NBA and around the world has elevated that the skill in the DTEAM of 2008 cannot be denied. As for DTeam 1992, they were too good with just Jordan and Robinson alone. But in this day an age, that would NOT be enough to win. Therefore I believe that both Dream Teams are on equal footing, neither is greater, neither is inferior. But I personally would favor DTEAM 2008 becuase they have more bench power than DTeam 1992.