The debate about whether or not the current U.S. Basketball Dream Team could beat the original 1992 version continues, even though it makes about as much sense as something that makes absolutely no damn sense. The 2012 team has some outstanding players, some future all-time greats to be sure, but their front-court consists of Tyson Chandler, Anthony Davis and Kevin Love. I’m a huge Kevin Love fan, but he can’t guard Karl Malone or Barkley in the post, and Chandler and Davis might foul out before the 3rd quarter was over going at Ewing and Robinson. Ewing and Robinson in the paint also makes up for any deficiencies the 1992 Dream Team might have in guarding the speedier, more athletic perimeter guys like Lebron and Westbrook. It’s really that simple.
So let’s throw this debate down into the deep, black dungeon where we keep all things that seemed interesting at first, but in hindsight should have never existed, right next to the American version of The Killing.
On to a legitimate discussion: is the 1996 Dream Team as good or perhaps even better than the 1992 Dream Team? This was an idea proposed to me by a friend of mine, and my initial reaction was probably as incredulous as yours is now. I mean who the hell was even on that 1996 team? What Olympics did they even go to? But let’s take a look at the rosters and matchups before we dismiss this argument.
The first thing that has to be addressed in any such discussion is what I’d like to call “The Jordan Dilemma.” That is: how in the hell do you ever bet against Michael Jordan in his prime in a basketball game? The answer is: at your own peril. That said, Jordan wasn’t entirely unbeatable. Just mostly. Just 99.9999%. Just… damn, arguing against a Jordan team is going to be harder than beating Contra without using the Konami Code. But what the hell, let’s go for it.
Here’s a look at the complete 1996 U.S. Basketball roster. The key differences between that team and the one that preceded it are Hakeem, Shaq, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Reggie Miller, and Gary Payton. None of those guys have the cache of Michael, Magic, or Bird. But if we’re talking about putting those teams against each other as they were–i.e., with Magic retired, Bird essentially retired, Penny and Hill in their primes before their health went AWOL, etc.–then there’s a strong case to be made for the ’96 team being better.
Looking first at the frontcourt, Malone, Barkley and Robinson are obviously a push, with all three men having been on both teams. But Olajuwon and Shaq give you two of the top six centers in NBA history, compared to Robinson and Ewing, who are a few notches lower in the Top 10. Granted, Hakeem was on the back-end of his prime, but he was still good for 27-11 and three blocks a game going into the ’96 season, and the two previous playoffs showed us that Ewing and Robinson ultimately couldn’t guard Hakeem in the post. Shaq was putting up almost the exact same numbers at that time, and had emerged as the most physically dominant NBA player since Wilt Chamberlain. Then you consider how good Robinson was and realize that this team had three of the most athletically gifted and skilled big men to ever play the game. It’s pretty clear that the 1996 Dream Team had an edge over the ’92 team in the post.
It gets trickier when discussing the backcourt. The lone carry-overs here are Stockton and Pippen. The other guards include Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway and Reggie Miller. In terms of legacies, you can’t even begin to compare those three to the Hoops Triumvirate of Michael, Magic and Bird. That much is obvious. But again, if you took the players from those years as they were at that time, the only player from the ’92 team who is definitely better than his counterparts is, of course, Jordan.
It’s easy to forget now–and even easier for younger fans to have never known–but Hill and Hardaway once looked like they’d be the next versions of Michael and Magic respectively. Both players had an excellent all around game and did a lot to make players around them better. Hill averaged 20 points, 10 boards and 7 assists in the season before the Olympics. Penny–a 6’7″ point guard with explosive athleticism–was a 21-4-7 guy. Both men had their careers sabotaged by invisible knee-and-ankle-gremlins, but in 1996 they would have held their own against a Jordan-led back court. Miller, meanwhile, would have been at least as capable as the ailing Bird was at spotting up and dropping open threes when needed. Mitch Richmond, an incredibly underrated marksman in his own right, would have been able to step up in case Miller was having an off night. A young Gary Payton hadn’t quite entered his prime yet, but he was already good for 19 points and 7 assists.
Could this combination of young, lesser-stars be enough to best Drexler, Mullin, a retired Magic and a nearly retired Bird? I’d say yes, and given the advantage they’d have in the post, you can easily argue that the 1996 team could beat the original team in a 7-game series. This doesn’t necessarily make them the “greatest” team. In sports, which often has a modern mythological element, ”greatest” and “best” aren’t always synonymous. The ’92 team will always be the greatest for reasons that can’t be statistically quantified. They were the first. They were a collection of living legends. Their impact overseas changed the game forever. You can’t be any “greater” than that.
But on the court, against those guys from the ’96 squad, that original Dream Team might not come out on top.
Then again, as I think about it… they did have that damn Jordan guy, who still wasn’t 30-years-old yet. It’s hard to bet against that dude. He was pretty good.