Baltimore July 19, 2012
A lot has been said about Kobe Bryant’s comments that the 2012 Olympic Basketball team could defeat the 1992 squad known to all as The Dream Team recently. Kobe’s comments set the sports world ablaze with chatter about if there was any validity to his opinion. Please! The answer is NO! Never! No way! Only in the imagination of Kobe or on some video game would this year’s team even be in the same league as The Dream Team. Sir Charles Barkley was spot on when he said that only Kobe, Durant and LeBron James would even have a chance to make The Dream Team.
Let me be clear about one thing. The Dream Team isn’t just the greatest basketball team ever assembled it’s the greatest sports team in the history of the Milky Way. Comparing it to any team is a sign of the utmost disrespect and shows how quickly we forget true greatness in the 24/7 sports world we now live in but, for the sake of argument we’ll take a closer look at the potential “matchup” starting with comparing the starting lineups.
The Dream Team 2012 Olympic Team
PG. Magic Johnson PG. Chris Paul
SG. Michael Jordan SG. Kobe Bryant
SF. Larry Bird SF. LeBron James
PF. Karl Malone PF. Carmelo Anthony
C. David Robinson C. Tyson Chandler
In my opinion (and the opinion of most basketball fans) it’s clear to most that The Dream Team has a clear advantage at every position besides Small Forward. LeBron is in the prime of his career and Larry Bird was surely just a shadow of his former self in 1992. That being said Bird’s leadership and toughness more than make up for losing his battle with Father Time. Outside of LeBron over Bird The Dream Team has the advantage at every position.
Many may wish to debate selecting Magic over Chris Paul but, to me there is no debate. Yes Magic was 32 years old, recently retired and recently HIV Positive. He also however, was in great shape and coming off a dazzling All Star MVP Performance. Chris “CP3” Paul is a great player in his own right and is arguably the best point guard in the game today. I love his game and the charity work he does off the court but, numbers never lie and size matters. Magic is 6’9 and Chris Paul is 6’0. In basketball terms Paul would be a “mouse” in Magic’s “house” and would look more like C3PO than CP3.
Shooting Guard will require the least amount of energy as there is no debate. Who would you rather have? Michael Jordan in the height of “his airness” or Kobe at 33? MJ enough said.
The thought of comparison between the Power Forwards and Centers of these two teams is laughable. Karl “The Mailman” Malone and David “The Admiral” Robinson or Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler the choice is yours. That’s an easy one right? Malone and Robinson would physically impose their will on Anthony and Chandler without much resistance.
That’s 4 positions to 1 in favor of The Dream Team. That should be enough to end any insane talk about the current team having a chance in hell of beating The Dream Team on their worst day. Nevertheless, A look at the respective reserves drives the point home even further and really makes this year’s team look like “The In Your Dreams Team” thanks to one Kobe Bean Bryant.
The Dream Team Reserves 2012 Olympic Team Reserves
PG. John Stockton PG. Deron Williams
SG. Clyde Drexler PG. Russell Westbrook
SF. Scottie Pippen SF. Kevin Durant
SF. Chris Mullin SF. James Harden
PF. Charles Barkley SF. Andre Iguodala
PF. Christian Laettner PF. Kevin Love
C. Patrick Ewing C. Anthony Davis
Barkley or Love? Stockton or Williams? Yeah Pippen or Durant may be cause for some discussion but not much. Ewing or Davis? Please spare me and show some respect for the game of basketball!
This discussion is absurd, asinine, ridiculous and most importantly disrespectful! The 2012 version of USA Basketball does not have the size, leadership, experience nor skill (yes I said it) to compete with The Dream Team. Kobe Bryant is the ultimate competitor and believes any team he’s on has the chance to win night in and night out. That arrogant swagger is part of what makes him great but he should watch his tongue and mind his thoughts the next time he has a inkling to say this team could even compete with The Dream Team.
The 2012 Olympic team is a very talented team with young megastars in their own right but, pound for pound, bucket for bucket the invincible immortal greatness that was The Dream Team would be too much for them to handle. The ants would meet the business end of the sledge hammer. Final score Dream Team 120 The In Your Dreams Team 95.
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